Heatwing
by john4096
Summary: Winter is coming to an end, and the reunited Silverwing colony is on their way back to the northern forests. Unfortunately, many of them will never make it. Takes place near the end of Sunwing.
1. Attack at Dawn

**Chapter 1: Attack at Dawn**

They had roosted in a tall, thick spruce tree, in a forest overlooking a wide valley. A single Human road cut through the centre, like an unnaturally straight river that branched off into a vast network of smaller streams. The tree itself was covered in gnarled knotholes, many of which led to small nooks just large enough to hold a bat or two. The rest of these holes leaked a seemingly endless supply of juicy beetles, making hunting unnecessary. Shade almost wished that they could stay here all summer.

The colony was still on its way back to the northern forests, where they would designate a new Tree Haven in preparation for the year's newborns. Of course, it was still early to be thinking of such things—it was not yet spring, so many younger bats were still unmated. Nonetheless, Shade couldn't help but feel a little knot in his stomach.

It was almost time for him to choose a mate, and he didn't know if he was ready for it yet. He knew whom he wanted, of course, but he doubted she would take him seriously—she never did, after all. Even now, as his eyes focused on the bright autumn leaf hanging from a branch a short distance away, he could see that she was sleeping beside Chinook. After everything the two Silverwings had been through in the jungle, Shade felt that this was a huge betrayal. Still, he tried his best not to be angry with Chinook: he _had_ saved his life after all.

The horizon began to glow with the coming dawn, and Shade tried to calm himself down so he could sleep. But every time he closed his eyes, he would see images of helpless bats splayed out on a vast, circular stone. A giant monster, with a three-foot wingspan, would then hunch over their bodies, one by one, before rearing back, a heart in his jaws.

He sighed heavily. How long would it be before he could sleep soundly again? He lit from the branch, in search of a better vantage point. If he couldn't rest, he might as well enjoy the view for which he had fought so vehemently.

He didn't have to wait long. Soon, a thin, bright crescent broke the horizon, forcing Shade to squint. As the sun rose into the sky, the forest was ignited before his eyes. Snow-covered trees glistened in the morning glow, and the ground shone bright white in the sun's rays. Even after having experienced it so many times, Shade couldn't help but stare in awe at the scene before him. It was as though the sun brought with it a whole new world.

"Can't sleep?"

Shade jumped, his head snapping in the direction of the noise. He grinned in spite of himself. Beside him hung a bright autumn leaf, not yet fallen. She must have snuck up on him while he was distracted. As his eyes washed over her, he felt as though the warmth of the sun's beam was only just now penetrating his fur.

"Maybe I just wanted to see the sunrise," he responded casually, "We _can_ look at now, you know."

Marina laughed mockingly. "You don't have to lie to me Shade: I could hear you moaning in your dreams."

He just grunted. Was her entire purpose in life to torment him?

_That's not fair_, he thought, _she traveled all that way to save you, remember?_ _She risked her life for you._

The Brightwing moved closer to him. "It's okay Shade, you don't have to act all tough. You saved the sun, for Nocturna's sake! You've earned the right to be a little traumatized."

Her words had a more profound effect on him than he would ever dare to admit. He looked into her eyes, trying to gauge her expression. He couldn't tell whether she was trying to be like a friend, or a sister…or something else. She was an enigma as always. Like this time she spent with Chinook: was she just seeking friendship? He had to admit, he hadn't been paying her as much attention as he should have been. Or did she want something more from Chinook? _Handsome_, he thought,_ she had called him handsome_. As though he could ever forget.

The whole thing bothered him, and he couldn't help but wonder if that was her intention. Making him look like an idiot, yet again. Still, Marina thought he was a hero; and here she was right now, watching the sunrise with him. Her bright fur shone radiantly in the daylight, and Shade couldn't help but reflect once more on how beautiful she was. Would there ever be a better opportunity?

"Marina, I was wondering—"

He broke off mid-sentence. A small crunching noise had reached his ears, which he now swiveled to try and home in on the source. The noise was getting louder…closer.

"—wondering what, Shade?" He had forgotten about Marina.

"Shh! Do you hear that?"

She looked a little disappointed before closing her eyes and flaring her ears. She frowned, "What is it?"

"I don't know, it sounds like…" he listened still more carefully, "footsteps." Shade belted out sound at the ground beneath the tree. It wasn't unusual to hear small land creatures or other beasts traveling through the snow during the day, but these footsteps seemed louder and more coordinated than those he was used to. As his echoes returned to his ears, a dozen or so tall, powerful creatures flashed in his mind's eye, etched in bright silver.

Shade broke out into a cold sweat. What were they doing here? He turned to Marina, opening his mouth to speak, to warn her, but his words were lost beneath a much louder shout emanating somewhere below him:

"Humans!"

The morning calm was broken by the sound of thousands of wings churning the air as the Silverwings awoke from their slumber, desperately taking to the sky in fear. Chaos erupted around him as Shade tried to locate his parents— to make sure they had gone already. Loud bangs rented the air and he watched as bats went careening into trees and falling to the ground, blinded by the noise. He made to take flight himself, turning to check that Marina was doing the same.

"Go!" he yelled.

He watched her open her wings and tense her legs, ready to lift off, when another loud bang rang out. Shade closed his eyes, flinching, and what he saw we he opened them made his heart plummet.

A dart had impaled Marina along her side, midway up her body. Her face was constricted in pain, and she tried blindly to grasp the needle with her claws. Shade made his way over to her and immediately tried to calm her down, despite his own racing heart.

"Marina! Stand still!" he yelled above the din of bat voices, calling out to friends and family, trying to locate their loved ones. "I'll try to get it out with my teeth."

She nodded, her eyes still shut tight. Shade quickly closed his jaws around the metal dart, and pulled gently. Marina let out a scream and he stopped, not wanting to hurt her.

Suddenly, her head lulled to one side and she lost her grip on the branch. Shade watched, frozen in terror as the autumn leaf finally fell to the ground, creating a small crater in the snow below. Wasting no more time, Shade bolted from the tree, streaking towards the forest floor. _She can't be dead!_ he thought,_ This can't be happening!_ He remembered the Humans that came after Goth and Throbb—they had used sleeping darts. He hoped morbidly that these darts also contained a sleeping elixir, and not something more sinister.

He finally landed on the ground and began frantically searching for Marina. His job was difficult, however, as many more shots filled the air, and one-by-one more limp bodies fell from their roosts. The snow was littered with bats that were either unconscious or worse, each with a feathered dart protruding from their sides or chests.

He continued to look for the bright fur amongst the dark silver. He wished he could help everyone, but he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he was separated from her again. How many times had she risked her life for him?

Just then, a wide shadow was cast over the snow, and Shade could tell from the silhouette that one of the Humans was standing over the lifeless Silverwings. Slowly, without any sense of urgency, the Human began gently picking the downed bats up off the ground with its powerful hands. Shade watched, fearfully retreating into the shadow of the tree's trunk as each one was tossed carefully into a metal cage.

Gradually, the pile of bodies was thinned until all but one had been placed into the cage. As the last bat dropped from the hands of its captor, Shade saw a glint of metal on the creature's forearm.

They had Marina.

The Human turned, its gruesome work finished, and began to walk away. Shade watched as it carried the cage towards one of the noisy, wheeled machines he had seen rumbling around in the city. _Oh, no you don't!_ Shade yelled in his head, _You're not taking her that easy!_ He spread his wings, ready to bite and tear and fight for the bats' freedom, when a claw came down on his shoulder, holding him to the ground.

"You can't win, Shade," Ariel said softly.

"That's not going to stop me from trying!" he said viciously. "They took Marina!"

He looked his mother in the eyes, and noticed she was crying. "I know, they took Cassiel too. But there's no sense getting caught ourselves. We need to have a plan, Shade, we can't just run after them."

Shade knew she was right, but he didn't like the idea of waiting around while those Humans could be doing all sorts of unspeakable things to the other Silverwings—to Marina. Reluctantly, he nodded his head and followed Ariel a short distance to where the rest of the colony was waiting, counting the missing bodies.

_Don't worry, Marina,_ he promised. _I'll come for you_.


	2. Alive

**Chapter 2: Alive**

He was dead. He must be. He felt nothing but pain. He cast out sound to see where he was, but the echoes bounced back sharply, nearly deafening him. He tried to move his left wing, but it was trapped under something heavy. He couldn't even feel his other wing. _How did I get here?_ he asked himself.

Suddenly, memories were whirling in his head: the sun blotted out; small bats lying on a round stone, cowering as he approached them; a strange, powerful voice, speaking through him; a sharp whistling sound; flames, heat, pain…and then nothing. He snarled in disgust as a single name rang through his head: Shade Silverwing.

He was to be King! He was to raise Zotz from the underworld! He was to rule the living and the dead, and that runty bat had made a fool of him yet again!

With an angry yell he pushed his aching wings into the ground, and arched his back. Slowly—excruciating slowly—the rubble crushing him into the ground began to shift. He could smell the fresh, jungle air and took a greedy breath. He pushed again, and again. He would not surrender like some pathetic weakling! With one final, immense effort, he was free.

He took to the air eagerly, only to come tumbling back to the ground, his wings buckling from the strain of flight. His body hit the ground hard and he skidded to a stop, dirt covering his face. He shook the soot from his eyes and opened them, taking a good look at his body.

His fur was almost entirely burned off, with singed patches still attached here and there. His wings were covered in gashes and burns, his joints swollen in places. He could feel a chunk missing from his ear, and his claws had all been broken off at various points. He doubted he would ever fully recover, and the thought of forever being a feeble, crippled bat made him grimace in shame.

His exertions had left him drained, and without warning, he began to feel very fatigued, collapsing onto the ground. His eyes kept opening and closing as he drifted in and out of sleep. Soon, he couldn't tell what was real and what was imagined anymore.

"Goth," a voice whispered.

The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. And the voice—something about it sent shivers down his spine. Was he dreaming?

"You are not dreaming Goth."

With such sudden clarity, everything snapped back into focus. He was wide-awake, and the memories came rushing back: Zotz healing his wings, his capture by the Humans, his cunning escape, his imprisonment of hundreds of bats and rats and birds, sacrifices in the darkness of the eclipse…and he, Goth, the center of it all.

"You have failed me Goth," the voice said. It was soft, but did nothing to hide the disdain in its words. "I healed your wings, I made you king. And all I asked in return was that you sacrifice one hundred hearts to me in the darkness of the eclipse. Surely a simple task for an accomplished bat such as yourself—"

"But Zotz, my lord!" Goth yelled back, feeling slightly impudent. "I tried! It was the runt, Shade Silverwing! He has plagued me since I first escaped from the Humans! He—"

"Silence, Goth!" The voice was no longer calm. It rang painfully in his head, blinding him again. "You're lucky you survived the disc's explosion. Were you dead, I would have seen to it that you suffered far worse than torn wings and burned flesh!"

Goth wrinkled his nose indignantly: god or not, he wasn't about to let anybody push him around! "Then kill me, Zotz! Oh yes, I forgot: you can't! Without me, you have no power in the world of the living!"

The voice was silent for a moment. Then, the bat god broke out into a hollow laugh, "Your insolence amuses me Goth, but I no longer have use for you—unable to kill one small, pathetic little bat. No, I will be sending a _competent_ servant to set me free this time."

Goth screamed in anger, "I am still king! And if you think that I am going to take orders from some weak, arrogant, inferior wretch, then you are sorely mistaken!"

Zotz laughed again, this time with malice. "I'm afraid you won't be around to meet your successor, Goth. Even as we speak, the Humans are coming for you, and there will be no escape this time."

With that, the voice was gone. All that remained was a final, echoing laugh that rang in Goth's ears and only enraged him further. _The Humans!_, he thought in revulsion, _they cannot contain me!_

Suddenly, his ears shot towards his flank: there was a rustling in the foliage. _The Humans are coming for you_. No, he would not give up that easily! He shot up into the sky as a bang pierced the air behind him, and he darted into the trees as fast as he could. Each beat of his wings was like hot needles piercing the entire length of his arm—each of the tears in his wings screaming its displeasure. He simply grimaced and flew on, using his echoes to guide him.

He swept through the dense overgrowth and hanging vines, confident that he would soon lose the giant beast fumbling around behind him. Another bang and he let out a triumphant laugh—nothing would stop him!

As he flew on, his body caught up with him and he began to feel groggy again. He sunk his teeth violently into the swollen flesh on his forearm to remain alert. After a few more wingbeats, he turned to search for his pursuer, and as his head swiveled to look behind him, his eyes fixed on a small feather protruding from his side.

He had been hit.

_Fight it!_ he told himself, _fight it!_ _You are not weak like Throbb_. But even as he continued to bite himself and force his eyelids open, he knew it was futile. Soon, his wings buckled beneath him, and he landed hard in a thorny bush, his wings pricked and punctured still more by the sharp barbs.

He was bleeding, and very seriously injured. There would be no escape. He waited, groaning in agony. With the last of the energy he could muster as the tall Male approached him and his eyes drooped tiredly, he hissed viciously, baring his formidable fangs. Then, everything went black.


	3. Alone

**Chapter 3: Alone**

The Silverwings had all gathered in a small cave, circling around their elders. As he too flew through the air, turning gently, Shade could see the sorrow in the faces of the bats he passed, and wondered how many of them had also lost a friend or a father. In all, thirty bats had been taken from their ranks.

He watched anxiously as the elders spoke in hushed voices, waiting for them to make their decision. With each passing second, Marina's terrified face flashed in his mind. He knew that the longer they waited, the further away the Human vehicle would take her, and the harder it would be to find her.

Finally, the elders raised their wings for silence and the few, solemn conversations quickly died out. Everyone stared intently at the eight bats hanging from the centre of the cave, waiting for one of them to speak.

The other elders closed their wings, but Bathsheba's remained open. After Frieda had passed away, she had assumed the role of chief elder, much to Shade's dismay.

"This is a small loss, however tragic," Bathsheba began dramatically. "Nonetheless, I see no reason in endangering more lives in the hopes of a _daring rescue._"

At those last two words, she shot Shade a contemptuous look and he felt the injustice of it rise inside him. After everything that had happened, after everything he had done, she still thought he was just some runty bat trying to act heroic!

"A small loss?" Shade echoed in disbelief. "They took _thirty_ of us!"

"And if we go after them, it could very well mean thirty more!" she countered. "You seem to think that you know what's best for everyone after your little _escapades_, but I am the elder here, not you!"

His blood began to boil in rage. How could she be so blind! This wasn't about heroics or _escapades_! Was she really about to let those bats suffer at the hands of the Humans? Who knew what terrible plans they had for their captives?

"So we're going to do nothing at all!" Shade asked through gritted teeth. "What about the bats that have lost family members, or friends?" he asked, appealing to the other elders. They wouldn't meet his eyes.

He could feel Ariel's claw on his shoulder, trying to calm him down before he did anything he would regret; but his temper was already at the breaking point and he couldn't restrain himself anymore, "If Frieda were still here, she wouldn't be sitting around like a soggy leaf! She would be chasing after those Humans herself!"

Bathsheba looked like she was about to explode. Her eyes bulged in their sockets and saliva flew from her mouth as she yelled back at him:

"Get it through your head, runt: Frieda is dead! Gone! And given her tendency to make rash decisions, she was lucky she survived as long as she has!"

She directed her attention back towards the rest colony, "We have all suffered terrible losses tonight, but our _sanity_," she glanced at Shade again, "should not be one of those losses! I say we prevent any further bloodshed, and continue our journey back to the northern forests without delay!"

Shade couldn't believe his ears. The elders were really prepared to give the captured Silverwings up for dead. He looked around the cave at all of the scared faces, solemnly nodding their heads in agreement. _What is wrong with these bats? _he thought angrily.

He hardened his face resolutely, staring at Bathsheba and the other elders defiantly. "Well I'm going after them, even if you're too pathetic to help!" With that, Shade bolted out of the cave and into the morning sky, alone.

* * *

><p>He circled upwards angrily, trying to locate the road the Humans had taken after their attack. It was hard to focus; he was still seething from the way Bathsheba had treated him. To her, he had always been the troublesome runt, just seeking attention.<p>

He tried to make a plan, but he had no idea what the vehicle looked like. He felt his spirits plummet as his eyes fell on the vast network of roadways branching from the first. _If only Marina were still here_, he thought sadly, _She would've told me were to start, or which plan made the most sense_. It was like being back in the Jungle all over again, and he found himself slightly lost without her.

And his father! He had only known him for a few days! Ever since Frieda had told him about Cassiel's quest to find the meaning of the bands, Shade had been trying to catch up with him. Now, just when father and son had been reunited after all these years, the Humans had come and taken him away.

All these thoughts continued to rage through his head as he circled. His contemplation was interrupted, however, by the unmistakable rustling of wings churning the air. He sang echoes out below him, and his heart leapt as the outline of two bats traced itself in silver in his head. As they approached, he could make out the familiar features and comforting scent of his mother.

Ariel came close and nuzzled against him. "Marina and I came after you when you were gone," she said, "So it's only fair that we rescue her now that she's gone".

Shade smiled gratefully.

"And you never know," the other bat said, "You might need me to fight off some giant caterpillars or something!"

Shade couldn't help but feel a strong sense of gratitude as Chinook leveled out and circled beside him. Whatever happened, at least he would be in good company.

* * *

><p>They had decided to rest through the day, for they had no way to know how far the vehicle had traveled with the bats, and so they could not know how long their journey would be. As night fell, they hunted a little before assembling once again in preparation for the voyage.<p>

"So what's the plan, Shade?" Chinook asked eagerly.

He had been afraid of this. Of course Chinook and his mother expected him to have a plan ready. He sighed and made for a tree overlooking the human roadways, signaling for the others to follow. He waited for them to roost beside him before starting.

"Look, I wish I had some brilliant plan to find them, but I don't. I can't even describe the truck very well." He looked over at the cave, out of which thousands of Silverwings were now pouring into the night sky. Shade frowned: he was sure one of them must know what the Human vehicle looked like. They could've at least tried to help him out.

Ariel seemed to read his mind: "You have to forgive them, Shade. They've been through so much these past few days. They just want to go home."

Shade grunted, unconvinced. He had suffered far worse than them, and _he_ was still willing to risk his life again.

"Come on, Shade!" Chinook encouraged him, "You don't need help! You're a hero!" He nudged Shade's shoulder with his thumb.

Of course he would say something like that. Leave it to Chinook to provide completely unhelpful compliments that, if anything, made Shade feel even worse.

"No, Chinook," he corrected him in a manner of forced calm. "It not that simple. I've always had help before. There was Marina, and Frieda, and Zephyr…"

"Zephyr?" Chinook interrupted, "Is that the guy that lives in the big tower? The one in the city?"

Shade's annoyance at Chinook's constant interruptions dissolved temporarily to be replaced with surprise. He hadn't thought that Chinook would remember the albino bat from the spire.

"Yeah, but I don't see how—"

"Marina told me that he could hear into the past, right?"

"Yes, Chinook, but he's millions of wingbeats away and—"

Chinook grinned and gave Ariel a strange look—the kind of look one makes when someone is missing something completely obvious. She laughed a little, and it infuriated him.

"I don't see what's so funny!" he yelled in frustration.

"You are!" Chinook said, chuckling.

Shade flattened his ears against his head and shot Chinook a withering look.

"Shade," his mother began softly. He relaxed his face and turned to her: "Don't you remember what Frieda told you? Sound is your gift! _You_ can listen into the past!"

Shade mouth fell open, shocked at her confidence. This was supposed to be obvious to him? He had never tried such a thing before, and he doubted he could do it now. He looked at his two companions, smiling at him expectantly. He didn't like the amount of pressure they were putting on him. He was about to protest when Chinook rolled his eyes.

"Oh, just do it Shade!"

And he did. He closed his eyes and stood his ears up as tall as he could. A multitude of echoes raced through his mind, creating a bright, silvery blur. He carefully began to filter through it all , tuning in to one sound at a time. Eventually he was left with only the faintest echoes—traces of sound made minutes ago, hours ago. He flared his ears still more and a scene took shape before him.

He could see the tree again, with all of the Silverwings sleeping soundly. He could see himself, tossing and turning in his dreams. It was the strangest thing he had ever experienced. He watched himself fly up to a higher branch, waiting for the sun to rise. Marina followed shortly afterward. She had been gone only a few hours, but Shade already missed her sorely, and it excited him to just be able to see her flying around again.

Then he saw the Humans come, and the chaos that ensued. He saw bats fleeing their roosts, their companions falling to the ground. He saw the Humans, solemnly placing their captives in a small metal cage and loading it into the back of a large truck.

This was it—this was what he needed. He followed the truck's path in his mind as it weaved its way through the forest and back onto the main road. It followed the road straight through for a while before turning off onto a side branch, which it followed only a short distance further before stopping beside a vast building.

A small headache began to throb at the base of his skull. He couldn't make out details very well anymore: he had to contend with time and distance now, and the echoes kept getting distorted by interfering echoes. The silvery lines in his head became blurred and confused. With one last fleeting look, he tried to make out some distinct marking on the building, but the sound image was already fading.

He opened his eyes: he had gotten everything he needed.


	4. Trapped

**Chapter 4: Trapped**

She was dreaming. Her head was flooded with images: a colony of bright-furred bats laughing at her; the sun, completely blotted out; a small Silverwing, cowering on a large circular stone; Shade, trying to tell her something important.

She was jerked to the side by a large bump and opened her eyes. She was inside a small container, with metal bars spaced thinly across the side. Through them, she could make out the rough inside of a Human vehicle—a truck, she realized. As the machine hit large bumps and potholes in the road, the cage bounced and shook violently, rattling her slightly. She could feel a dull ache in her side where the dart had hit.

The cage smelled strongly of the sweaty, fearful bodies that filled it. There was a small amount of nervous chatter among the bats, but most simply looked resigned. She began to wonder how many had been captured, before her ears flared: a voice was calling out to her somewhere on the other side of the cage.

"Marina? Marina, is that you?"

She looked over and her heart leapt: it was Shade! His voice sounded deeper than she remembered, but her eyes could definitely make out his silhouette, standing among the other bats, many of which were still asleep.

"Yes! I'm over here!" she replied. At least they had not been separated.

She began making her way towards him, being careful not to tread on anyone's wings. Bats weren't really meant to walk, and the uneven road made things even more difficult, but she made steady progress as Shade also began to move towards her. As the truck passed briefly into the light of a passing street lamp, his forearm was illuminated, emitting a bright metallic flare. She hesitated, sending a wash of sound over the strange bat. The returning echoes made her heart heavy with disappointment: it was not Shade, but someone that looked very similar.

It was Cassiel, Shade's father. She supposed she should be glad that Shade had managed to escape, but she felt let down all the same. Things never turned out well when they were separated from each other. Still, she realized how fortunate she was to be with someone she knew, even if only distantly.

"Is Shade here with you?" he asked, finally making it across to her.

"No, he got away."

The concern must have shown in her voice, because his reply was soothing.

"Don't worry: he'll come after us." He flashed her a weak smile, "He's almost as stubborn as I am."

Marina laughed awkwardly, happy to be distracted from their situation. "I don't know, maybe he'll decide _against_ being the hero this time."

The two bats stared at each other for a moment before bursting out into uncontrollable fits of laughter. The simple jokes in the midst of such danger put them in disproportionately high spirits.

"Could you imagine Shade just letting things happen?" Cassiel asked between gasps for air.

"What?" Marina returned, "And pass up all the opportunities to nearly get himself killed?"

Cassiel grinned, "He does tend to rush into things doesn't he?"

"And he has a habit of dragging me along with him," Marina said ruefully. "I mean, sure, he does happen to be right a lot of the time…"

Cassiel lowered his voice, "And his heart's in the right place."

"Yeah," she sighed.

Marina stopped laughing. His heart _was_ always in the right place. She would never admit it, but she sort of liked how stubborn and impulsive he was. It made him different from other bats. She closed her eyes, imagining Shade flapping his wings, flying towards her at this very moment. It was somehow very comforting and very amusing at the same time.

As though only just realizing what was happening, Marina began to worry. Where were the Humans taking them? Would they attach explosives to them again? And if they did, what chance did they stand of surviving? She shivered: she had cheated death far too many times to feel lucky.

She started shaking slightly, and Cassiel wrapped his wing around her comfortingly. Marina looked up into the bat's grizzled face and felt oddly safe: it was like having a father again. She couldn't help but feel that things would work themselves out somehow. After all, she and Shade had been through much worse.

Marina was torn from her warm thoughts by a sudden jolt that sent the two bats sprawling onto the floor. The vibrations from the engine had stopped: they had arrived.


	5. Pursuit

**Chapter 5: Pursuit**

Shade's wings were beginning to ache. The three bats had been traveling all night and they still hadn't reached the point where the truck had branched off of the main road. He found himself wondering vaguely how fast the Humans vehicles could travel.

He knew they would have to roost soon, and he hated the thought of sitting around while Marina and his father were in trouble. He kept worrying that they wouldn't make it in time. What if the bats were already on a flying machine south to the Jungle? He pushed the thought out of his head, telling himself not to think about it. But try as he might to just stay focused on pumping his wings as fast as he could, his mind kept wandering to the captured bats.

He imagined Marina, powerful hands holding her down, and watched in terror in his mind as they shaved a patch of brilliant fur off her stomach and began sewing a disc to her flesh. His stomach lurched and he felt sick. _You said you would stop thinking about it!_ he yelled inwardly.

He caught his mother looking at him strangely out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" he snapped.

"You're worried about her aren't you?"

"Of course I'm worried!" he practically yelled. "Aren't you after what happened to me and Chinook?"

She smiled knowingly.

"I admire you two," she said. "You take such good care of each other."

Shade felt himself soften, grinning back at her. He couldn't count the number of times he'd nearly died trying to save Marina—or the number of times _she_ had saved _him_ from and early grave.

When they finally felt that they could cover no more ground that night, the small party roosted on a tall metal structure the Humans had built along the side of the road. It was a sign of sorts, and on it Shade could make out the image of a tall animal he had never seen before, with an incredibly long neck. Irregular, black spots ran along the length of its body and it seemed to be eating leaves out of a strange tree—one that he had also never seen before. Below this picture were an arrow pointing upwards and a jumble of Human markings, whose meaning was lost on him. The group hunted for a while before returning to the structure to rest.

Without anything to distract him, Shade found that frightening scenarios were running through his head again. They were steadily becoming more and more horrifying and ridiculous. Now he was imagining all of the bats sitting around a metal cage, silently afraid, inexplicably knowing what was about to come. Then, Goth appeared—his wings burned and punctured, like a walking corpse—prying the bars of the cage apart with his immense strength. He stepped in, that terrible grin on his face, and began tearing out the Silverwings' hearts, one by one. After many terrible screams, only Marina was left and Shade was glad to be diverted from his nightmare.

"Don't worry, Shade," Chinook said in a surprisingly gentle voice, reading the expression on his face. "Marina's smart. She'll be all right."

"And Cassiel's there too," Ariel added. "They'll get through it together."

"Yeah, I guess." Shade wasn't quite convinced, but he didn't want the others to think he was being too pessimistic.

"Hey, Shade," Chinook called a few wingbeats later, winking at him. "You think Marina misses me?"

Shade felt his eyebrows shoot impossibly far up on his forehead. _How could he possibly ask me something like that?_ he thought incredulously. He shot Chinook the dirtiest look he could muster, his eyebrows twitching menacingly.

Chinook broke into a wide grin, "Relax, buddy! I'm only joking!"

Shade laughed in spite of himself. He really was glad Chinook was there. Next to Marina, this irritating bat—the same one that had always called him Runt as a newborn—was the best friend he had ever had. Reflecting on his choice of relationships, Shade began to wonder if he enjoyed being mocked.

* * *

><p>The following night, they resumed the route that would lead them to the missing bats. Shade knew, deep inside, that they had needed the rest, but he couldn't help the feeling that they had wasted a lot of time. How did they know that the bats hadn't already been moved somewhere else? Or what if, right now, the Humans were shining lights in their eyes, poking them with needles? He remembered what Caliban had told him back at Statue Haven: <em>Some bats had their wings burned off…or worse.<em>

"You know, I've been thinking about what I was going to do when we got back to Tree Haven," Chinook said cockily. Then again, Chinook always sounded cocky when he spoke. "It's about time I choose a mate, don't you think Shade?"

Shade merely grunted. He looked ahead at Ariel, breaking the wind in advance: she wouldn't be able to hear them. Still, he didn't want to talk about mates or anything right now; he simply wasn't in the mood. Chinook continued anyway.

"Yeah, I just don't know who I should ask…so many females. You know the feeling, right Shade?"

No, Shade did not know the feeling. Marina was the only female he had gotten to know well—the only one that wasn't related to him anyway. Not that it bothered him: he had never been very popular, and he was content with having just a few close friends, especially since so many bats in his colony were so infuriatingly incurious.

"I mean, I've known Penumbra since we were newborns. You remember her, right? She would make a good mate, but then there's also Pandora…"

Shade stopped listening. Of course Chinook would have a long list of potential mates. After all, he was strong and handsome—Marina had said so herself. He wondered if anyone thought _he_ was handsome. Marina definitely didn't. He wasn't sure if Marina thought anything much of him, really. They spent most of their time bickering with each other, and he often wondered if she even _liked_ him. Sure, they were friends, but he just couldn't imagine that she would take him seriously as a mate.

"…and_ she's _a good hunter, too. I guess I'll have to see how things work out with Penumbra first. What about you? Do you know who you're going to ask?"

Shade had hardly registered that Chinook was still talking. The muscular bat was now looking at him expectantly, and Shade considered telling him, simply, that he hadn't given it much thought. Then he realized that it wouldn't be fair to Chinook—he was just trying to help keep him distracted so he wouldn't dwell on the missing bats.

"Well, you know," he began awkwardly. "Marina and I have always been good friends, and well…if she wanted to…you know…"

He was conscious of his stuttering and felt irritably embarrassed. He wondered vaguely why it was so difficult for him to talk about her. Chinook was smirking at him, clearly very amused by his hesitation.

"Ariel's right about you two."

"What?" Shade demanded. What was his mother saying to Chinook behind his back?

"You're both so stubborn and argumentative and everything." He laughed, "It's kind of cute."

Shade's voice dripped sarcasm, "Uh-huh. Cute."

"If I weren't way better looking than you, I'd say you two were perfect for each other. Relax! Relax! I was joking again. Jeez, Shade, you need to lighten up!"

Shade sighed. He supposed he could stand to relax a little. There was nothing he could do for the captured bats until they found the building. It was pointless to worry about something he had no control over.

The conversation turned to the weather, and what they thought the new Tree Haven would be like, and other trivial things that still made the time pass much faster. Chinook eventually asked to hear about Shade's first meeting with Marina, and their travels together. He could tell that his friend was trying to boost his confidence, and he couldn't think of a way to thank Chinook for it.

Eventually, the sky began to glow as the night drew to a close. Just as Shade was about to suggest that they land again for the day, Ariel dropped back beside them, interrupting their conversation about Tiger Moths.

"Is that the branch the truck took?" she asked, indicating a thin side road with her wingtip.

He looked down at the small street jutting off of the thick highway. He had been so distracted that he hardly noticed how far they traveled. Shade felt like doing a loop in the air: they were almost there!


	6. Deja Vu

**Chapter 6: Déjà vu**

The back of the truck opened suddenly, and sunlight spilled into the cage. Marina could feel the sheer power in its movements as a Man picked the box up roughly and walked towards a very wide, low building. She squinted painfully as they were taken through a door and into a brightly lit hallway.

The Human stopped for a moment, as though taking its bearings, before turning and making its way through arrays of endless corridors, switching routes several times. Marina began to lose track of how far they had been taken or which way would lead them back outside. The Human eventually stopped outside yet another door with a small window in it. After a short pause in which the door was unlatched, the bats were carried through its threshold into a strange forest.

Marina was alarmed at first, thinking that they had been brought to a similar building as before, where the Humans studied bats and attached explosives to their bodies. However, as the top of the cage was removed to allow the bats to fly into their new surroundings, she realized that it was very different from the first Human building.

This forest was significantly smaller than the other one, and had three distinct black walls. The ceiling was also dark, with a small multi-paned skylight in the centre. There was a multitude of trees and shrubs of all kinds, much more developed than they should have been so early in the spring. The enclosure itself was dimly light, except for the small trickle of sunlight that entered through the window in the ceiling as the day drew on. Instead of a stream, there was a small pond that seemed to gurgle slightly.

What caught her eye most of all was that one entire wall of the enclosure was made of pure glass. Beyond the glass lay another hallway, only slightly illuminated by lights lying along the floor. There were no brightly clad Humans on the other side—no one staring through it and studying the bats.

Marina roosted in a tall birch tree, where the other Silverwings were eying their surroundings suspiciously. She landed and took another look around at the forest. She quickly realized that the other trees were also filled with bats, all staring intently at the newcomers.

Marina turned as Cassiel came in to roost beside her.

"Where are we?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"I don't know…" He looked thoughtful. "This is definitely very different from the other building."

Marina's eyes passed over the strange bats intriguingly. She noticed that most of them were other Silverwings, a few of them banded. In fact, she couldn't spot any other kind of bat staring out at her from among the trees.

She looked at Cassiel, whose eyes were also passing over the unfamiliar faces. "Do you think they're friendly?"

"I hope so."

Gradually, the strange bats began whispering amongst themselves and Marina strained her ears, trying to pick up parts of their conversation.

"More newcomers? I thought we were full…"

"Do you think they know what's happening?"

"Where's Socrates? He should be explaining everything to them."

"Did you see over there? There's a Brightwing with them, too!"

Then, in a flurry of wings, a bat with shell-shaped ears and unusual circular markings around his eyes flew over to the frightened Silverwings, smiling benevolently. As he passed through the shaft of sunlight streaming through the window in the ceiling, his fur caught the light and shone brightly. The Brightwing banked gently and landed gracefully on the same branch as Cassiel and Marina.

"Welcome, newcomers!" the bat began charismatically. "I am Socrates, the leader of this enclosure. My colony and I were the first bats to arrive here. I know, at first, it is a lot to take in; I'm sure you're all very anxious and confused, but you needn't be concerned: you are perfectly safe!"

"That sounds familiar," Marina mumbled doubtfully under her breath, thinking of Arcadia.

Socrates looked at her with sparkling eyes, but instead of frowning disdainfully like she had expected, he smiled warmly.

"I take it you have had the misfortune of coming across one of the Human research centers?"

Marina found herself surprised again: did he know about the metal discs? She had been expecting another delusional, self-important leader, still clinging to the Humans and their dark promise. But, this fellow Brightwing—who she realized must have been around her own age—exuded an aura of confidence and intelligence that made it hard for her to stay wary. When he spoke again, his voice was soft and sympathetic.

"You all have been through more trouble than any of us deserve. It is a monstrous thing that the Humans have done, but all is not lost." He swept his wing over the artificial landscape, "Just as all bats are different—from colony to colony, generation to generation—so too do the Humans differ. Some have become so barbaric that they not only seek war with each other, but resort to such atrocious means of carrying out their violence as you have seen."

As he drew a deep breath, Marina couldn't see what was meant to be so comforting about this speech; but her questions were soon answered.

"However, these people represent only a fraction of the populous and intelligent race that we call the Humans. You, my new friends, are fortunate enough to have been collected, not for the purpose of warfare and testing, but for the benefit of their education."

"I don't understand," Cassiel interjected. "If Humans are so advanced, what do they need us for?"

Marina nodded her head in agreement. She was still confused, but her curiosity had been sparked as well—no doubt a symptom of having spent so much time around Shade.

Normally, she would have shrugged Socrates's speech off and gone to look for an escape—she had heard far too many stories from far too many blindly hopeful bats—but again, she found this particular Brightwing awfully endearing, with a strange sincerity in his voice.

"Yours is not a question easily answered," Socrates said, without losing any of his previous poise. "The Humans that come here—you will see them pass through that hallway soon," he pointed at the glass wall, through which there was a flurry of activity. "They watch us. Some with interest, some with awe, some even with disgust. However, one thing is certain: they have never sought to harm us."

"That's what the bats at the other building told us," Marina said. She was still skeptical, but tried to keep her voice respectful. "It took months for the Humans to start attaching the discs."

Again, he smiled at her good-naturedly. He was unlike any other proponent of the Humans that she had ever known. He did not lose his temper, or become annoyed, or yell, or avoid her questions. Instead, he moved closer and looked at her admiringly.

"You are an unusually sharp bat miss. What is your name?"

"Marina."

"Ah, Marina. A name meaning 'from the sea' if I'm not mistaken?"

She nodded again. Did Socrates know everything?

"Well, you have good reason to be suspicious. Even I, when I first arrived two years ago, refused to trust the Humans. I searched for an escape for many weeks. However, time went by and the Humans had not inflicted any harm upon us. In fact, they had done the opposite. Whenever I grew ill, they gave me medication, and I healed. Whenever one of our colony went into labor, they helped both mother and child survive. They feed us fresh insects everyday, they provide clean water and air. They truly care for us."

It sounded incredible, the thought of having these creatures that knew so much help and protect the bats so devotedly. Marina looked around and noticed that every single one of the bats living here seemed happy and content. They had no predators, no fears, not even illness to worry about. They were safe.

"And of course," Socrates finished, "You are all welcome to stay here. There are plenty of unused roosts and there is more than enough food to go around. We'd be happy to have you."

It almost seemed to good to be true, but whether this place was a tempting paradise or another convincing trap, she had to escape. She had to get back to Shade. Cassiel spoke, voicing the same concern clawing at the back of her own mind.

"This is all so overwhelming, and we can't thank you enough for your generosity," he said, "But we have a colony to get back to. Many of us are missing mates or family members."

Socrates's face seemed to sadden slightly.

"I know you've been through a lot. It wasn't easy for any of us. However, I feel that if you give this place—this new life—a fair chance, you might find that you're happier than you were before—"

Marina snorted derisively. Was he suggesting that they abandon all of their family and friends just for the convenience of living in an overrated cage? As her discontent thoughts swirled through her head, she realized that this was exactly how Shade would have reacted, and she couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

Socrates sighed at her interruption and Marina wondered if he was finally going to snap and tell her that she should be grateful for the way the Humans were caring for them. However, when turned towards her again and kept his tone calm.

"I understand your skepticism, but you'd be shocked at how true my words are. I'm only asking that you give things a try," he turned once more to the entire group of Silverwings. "If you are not satisfied with this place, you are welcome to your opinion. No bat here will try to hold you against your will or prevent your escape. I myself have never given up the search for a way out. But I'm afraid that my efforts have, thus far, been wasted."

Socrates opened his wings and took off into the air, circling before the Silverwings' tree. "For the time being, I would like to introduce you to the rest of the bats here and explain to you our way of life."

The Silverwings followed as he proceeded to introduce them to three distinct colonies that had been brought to the forest, each with their own elders. Socrates himself was the leader of the first colony to arrive—a group of Silverwings, like all the others. Marina wondered how a Brightwing, especially one so young, had come to be the chief elder of a Silverwing colony, much less the head the entire enclosure.

The group was told that they would be permitted to remain as their own colony, and they could chose to elect a representative elder if they wished. Socrates showed them some trees that had not yet been occupied and could be used for roosts; he explained that insects were constantly being prepared and periodically released into the enclosure—enough for everyone to have their fill; he indicated the gurgling pond, and told them that the Humans had a special machine that filtered dirt and other substances from the water, causing it to bubble the way it did.

As this went on, Marina noticed that all around her, eyes were sparkling with the same hope and desire that she had seen in the bats back at the research facility. Even she would've been happy to believe that the Humans here would take care of them. After all, Socrates seemed to know a lot about the Humans and their motives, and Marina couldn't help but want to trust him. She found herself longing to finally rest, to finally go a few days without being chased by something, or nearly eaten.

But even as these thoughts swirled through her head, her mind wandered to the rest of the Silverwing colony. Particularly she thought of Shade, and how much they had been through together. She couldn't just leave him behind.

She sighed and decided to rest for the day. At night, she would speak to Cassiel and Socrates, and anyone else that was willing to help. They would find a way out.


	7. Arrival

**Chapter 7: Arrival**

In the bright glow of the setting sun, Shade's eyes could just dimly make out a very wide building with a perfectly flat roof. It wasn't nearly as tall as most of the other Human structures, however, and his ears weren't tempted by any beckoning voices this time. In front of the building, the road they had been following widened into a vast lot, with vehicles aligned in neat rows. He tried to find the truck that had taken the bats, but there were simply too many. It didn't matter though: he was certain that they had already been taken inside.

He set down on the building's level roof, and Ariel and Chinook followed suit. Without a word, he immediately started scuttling along the structure, looking for an entrance of some sort. They were so close now—he didn't want to waste another second.

Ariel tried to get his attention, "Shade, wait for a moment."

He pretended not to hear her, moving on from a very promising vent that he realized, upon inspection, had been covered by a thinly perforated grate. He would find a way in; he was going to save his father; he was going to save Marina. He continued towards some pipes that seemed to be releasing steam into the sky.

His mother placed her claw on his shoulder and pulled up beside him.

"I know you want to find them quickly," she began. "But we need to be careful, Shade. We can't simply rush in. We don't know what the Humans are planning."

Shade looked at her, opening his mouth to respond—to tell her he didn't want to waste time talking about things—when he hesitated. She seemed much older than he remembered. He realized, guiltily, that she had been under a lot of stress lately. She had lost Cassiel twice now, and he couldn't count the number of times he himself had almost been taken from her forever. He swallowed his reply and sighed.

"You're right," he admitted.

"How about we split up?" Chinook suggested to Ariel. "Shade and I could check that half of the building, and you could check the other half. If we find anything, we'll meet back here and then decide what to do."

Shade was shocked at how sensible Chinook's plan was. He had never exactly been the brightest bat in the colony. He supposed that some of Marina's smarts must have rubbed off on him.

Still, he hesitated. The idea made sense, but he didn't know whether he'd be able to resist rushing in immediately if he did find an opening. He pushed his fear to the back of his mind—he didn't want to waste more time. They agreed to meet back before sunset with any news, before setting off in their respective directions.

"Be careful," he told his mother sincerely.

"Don't worry about me," his Ariel said, nuzzling him. She lowered her voice, "And keep an eye on Chinook. He trusts you."

With one last fleeting glance, they went their separate ways. Shade set about methodically checking every possible means of entry. He checked every vent and grate and pipe, being thorough yet quick. As he searched the rooftop, Chinook kept up a steady stream of conversation.

"It's just like back in the jungle, eh Shade? You and me, working together. Do you think there'll be any cannibal bats this time?"

Shade grunted no and kept searching. He liked Chinook, and he realized that talking was just the bat's way of calming his nerves, but he was too focused on his task to play an active role in the conversation.

"No, I suppose we're a little too far north for that." he agreed. He punched Shade on the shoulder, "We would've been be able to take them anyway, don't you think? I mean, you've gotten a lot bigger, Shade."

Shade broke out of his scrutiny of a large glass window set carefully into the stone of the roof to look at his companion inquiringly.

"You think so?" he asked. He looked down at himself. His chest did seem a bit bigger, he supposed. He unfolded his wings and found that they extended to almost a full foot—still below average for a Silverwing, but not by much.

"Yeah. I mean, Marina first pointed it out to me, but she's right: you're not a little runt anymore."

Though he spoke in a mock-motherly tone, Shade appreciated it all the same. _Marina had pointed it out_, he thought. With newly found vigor Shade returned his gaze to the strange glass window below him, more determined than ever to save his fellow Silverwings.

"I don't get it. Why would the Humans put a window in the roof?" Shade wondered aloud.

"I heard that it was supposed to let sunlight in so that they could grow plants indoors," Chinook explained. "Their artificial lights aren't strong enough to—what?"

Shade was staring at Chinook with a mixture of awe, suspicion, and disbelief.

"Chinook, when did you stop being so…so…" he trailed off. He couldn't think of a nice way to put it.

"Dumb?" Chinook asked with a shrewd smile.

Shade just shook his head, "However you learned all this stuff, I'm glad you're here now." He looked back at the window. It was foggy, but he could see that Chinook was right: his eyes could definitely make out the wavy outlines of leaves and grass beneath the surface.

Suddenly, something moved inside the room. And then again: a flurry of wings. There were bats beneath the window.

"Chinook, there down there!" he exclaimed, tapping his claw against the glass. He felt relived. He had found them; they were still alive.

"Are you sure?" Chinook asked skeptically. He peered through the cloudy glass, "It's too blurry to tell; they could be any kind of bat. Actually, they seem a little too big."

"It's probably just the glass stretching things a bit," Shade said dismissively. "It's got to be them. Here, help me open one of these panels."

* * *

><p>Marina took a drink from the artificial pond before roosting in a thick cedar tree. The water was nothing like the cold metallic stream back at the research facility. The bugs were much better here too. In fact, she was beginning to worry that things were <em>too<em> nice here—that she would be too tempted to stay.

Someone landed beside her and her heart raced for a moment as her eyes swept over Cassiel's dark outline. Every time she saw him, she would think that it was Shade, just for a brief moment. Then she would notice the lines on his aging face, the dull gray interlaced with his dark silver fur, and the bright metallic band on his arm.

"Well, I've looked all over this place," Cassiel said dejectedly. "The only ways out are through the door or the window, and both of them can only be opened from the outside."

Marina looked into his face as he spoke, and she noticed that he seemed to be breaking down a little. His eyes skittered around nervously, and he kept shifting back and forth along the branch. She realized that all the memories of the old Human building must have come rushing back to him and she shuddered a little at the thought. She had only been there a few days; he had been there for months.

"Still," he continued, trying to sound calm and collected. "We won't give up hope, will we?"

Marina only nodded, not feeling very confident. As the older bat left to hunt, she found herself feeling very hopeless indeed. _I guess it's up to you Shade_, she thought, _You've never failed before_. The branch shuddered slightly again and Marina turned, expecting to find that Cassiel had returned.

It was Socrates.

"Well, what do you think?" the Brightwing asked, watching her carefully.

She sighed. "It _is_ really a nice place," she conceded after some hesitation.

"We were very lucky to have been brought here," he told her, looking around at the scenery. "I've heard stories of less fortunate bats getting stuck in much smaller enclosures, with such little food that it's a constant fight for survival."

Marina nodded grimly, imagining the small, the weak, and the elderly looking on cautiously as the stronger bats fought over food, just hoping that something would be left for them. She thought of the copious amounts of beetles and moths they were fed and the gentle care the Humans extended to them. It was like the perfect home.

"It's almost paradise," Marina said.

"Almost?"

Socrates said it in a firm manner, like a statement, but she assumed it was meant as a question. She tried to explain, knowing somehow that he would understand.

"What good is a paradise if you can't share it with your friends?" she asked. "I mean, the trees are nice and the food is great, and there aren't any predators…"

Socrates nodded solemnly. "It is true: there is no greater paradise than to be surrounded by loved ones. But it is not too late for that."

"It isn't?" she asked, surprised. She didn't see how they were ever going to convince the rest of the Silverwing colony to join them—or how they would even get out in the first place.

"No, it is never too late." He swept his wing out, indicating the trees around them. "The bats here have made _new_ friends, found _new_ loved ones. In fact, it is mating season at this very moment."

"Really?" As though only seeing them for the first time, Marina noticed that the branches, filled with bats, were all organized into pairs. It amazed her, the thought of forgetting your old life and starting all over again. She had to confess, there was probably no better place to raise a family—safe from predators and the cold.

But even as she thought this, she knew that she was trying to trick herself into taking the easy way out—and she also knew somehow that it wouldn't work. Paradise or no paradise she was going to escape. She would raise her family the hard way.

"It's tempting, but I still want to go," she said finally, trying to be firm without offending him. "You've been really kind, and this place is nice and all, but I've already had to give up my family once; I don't think I could do it again."

Socrates frowned, "Many of us will be sad to see you go. In fact, I happen to know of one bat that was working up the courage to ask you to be his mate."

This caught her by surprise. She didn't see how it was possible: she had hardly spoken to anyone since she had arrived.

"You do? But I've only been here one day." She stared at him questioningly, "I haven't even talked to anyone—except you".

At this, he looked down at his claws, and she suddenly understood. She looked away awkwardly.

"Socrates, I…"

She faltered. She couldn't deny that she enjoyed his company. He was very charismatic, and he seemed to know everything. He was never angry or irritable, and always seemed so selfless. In many ways, he was the exact opposite of Shade. Somehow, that's how she knew that it would never work.

"I'm flattered Socrates, really," Marina began. She didn't want to hurt him, "Any bat would be lucky to have you, it's just…"

He placed a claw on her shoulder and she faced him again, surprised to see that he was still smiling.

"It's okay, Marina. I'm no fool. I know not to chase after something I cannot have." He grinned widely, "So who's the lucky bat?"

And so, all through the night, Marina told him everything. She started back when she had first been banded, and continued through her entire journey to the moment the Humans had captured her. She found it a little hard at times to talk about Shade and herself in such a way—a way that made it seem like everything was in the past—and when she finished, as the window in the ceiling shone with the early sunrise, she began to cry uncontrollably.

"It sounds like you've found yourself a very good friend," Socrates said, wrapping his wing around her comfortingly. "I think it's only fair that I help you get back to him."


	8. Fallon

**Chapter 8: Fallon**

Goth opened his eyes with dread. Even his sluggish, drug-ridden mind knew where he had been taken. It was about midday and the leaves and fronds—pale copies of those back home—shone brightly in the mist. For a moment he just lay there, fearful that the exertion of flight would cause his wings to fall off. Then he realized that there may be other Vampyrum here, and he sprung into the air. He didn't want these pathetic, coddled bats to think he was weak.

As he flew, he eyed his wings suspiciously, pouring a wash of sound of them. No longer did the grass, rushing below him, show through tears in his wings. He looked at his body. Most of his fur had re-grown, and he could barely feel his burns. Had Zotz decided to spare him after all? The thought filled him with pride: the god still needed him.

Spotting a dark shape amongst its leaves, Goth landed briskly in a tree, showing off somewhat with his new found strength. He examined the specimen beside him closely, and sneered in disgust. It was a poorly built thing, this bat. The normally sleek Vampyrum body was hidden beneath folds of fat, the wings stubby. The bat smiled at him happily.

"So you're the guy everybody's been talking about."

Goth grinned delightedly. Clearly his ruthless reputation had spread far from the Jungle, even far enough to reach these disgraces.

"Ah, so you've heard of me?"

"Yeah, Fallon told us some new bat had arrived. Said he was really torn up."

Goth's smirk weakened.

"You look much better though. The Humans managed to patch you up pretty well—"

Goth lunged, snapping his jaws down within an inch of the bat's face, growling. "Zotz is the one who healed my wings!"

The bat seemed unperturbed by Goth's threat, frowning slightly. "Who's Zotz? Is that the name of the Human that caught you?"

Goth's fury at this insult was boundless. "How dare you compare Zotz, the god of the Underworld, to some pathetic Human!"

The bat squinted slightly, as though humouring him. "Okay, whatever you say."

Goth couldn't believe his ears. He had known the northern bats to put their faith in some petty female god—Nocturna they called her—but he had never heard of a _Vampyrum_ that hadn't heard of Zotz. All the bats born in the royal pyramids were taught at birth to devote their lives to the service of this almighty god. He had the sudden urge to snap the spoiled bat's neck, but he restrained himself, for he needed some questions answered.

"Where am I?" he demanded.

"A zoo, as the Humans call it. They feed us and care for us—like they healed your wings. Then, during the day, they watch us through that glass wall there."

Goth followed the bat's extended wingtip and gazed at the vast window set into the side of the enclosure. It was much larger than the one through which the Man had observed his specimens back in the other fake Jungle. He growled in distaste: _They care for us_.

"Do you mean to tell me that you've sat here contentedly all this time?" His voice shifted from surprise to disgust, "You've never tried to escape?"

"Escape?" the bat asked, startled. "Leave this place? We have food, and shelter, and they heal us if we're ill. Just look at your wings! The Humans—"

"The Humans are not our allies, nor anyone else's!" Goth raged. "They defied Zotz, and they will be punished!"

"It was still pretty nice of them to fix you up and everything," the bat remarked snidely.

_That will be his last breath_, Goth thought. Unable to take the bat's blasphemy any longer, he lunged. The oaf seemed too surprised to fight back as Goth's claws tore into its flesh. He reared his head, ready to sink his teeth into its neck when he felt something slam against him hard. His claws tore lose of the tree and he dropped to a lower branch, sprawled on his stomach.

"I don't remember giving you permission to kill this bat," a voice rang out arrogantly. "You must think pretty highly of yourself, don't you?"

Goth still wasn't quite sure what had happened. All he knew was that some other bat was mocking him, and he wasn't about to take it lying down. He didn't care who this Vampyrum was, he would not be humiliated like this. He pounced into the air, streaking towards his attacker. With a casual flip, the bat dodged his assault, sinking its claws into Goth's shoulders. It was now on top of him, and it folded its wings, driving him into the ground. Goth hit the grass hard, the breath being knocked from his lungs. He looked up at his foe, standing with its legs on either side of his body, pinning his wings to the dirt. He realized shamefully that it was a female.

But such a strong female Vampyrum Goth had never seen. Her chest stuck out proudly, exaggerating her prominent muscles. Her eyes were always slightly narrowed, giving her a permanent look of disdain. Along each of her shoulders ran three thin bands of bright fur that contrasted with the usual dark Vampyrum coat, and gave the impression of military insignias. Still, Goth realized vaguely, none of this did anything to reduce her prominent feminine features. She exuded a confident sense of proud authority, and Goth found himself hesitating slightly before he opened his mouth.

"Get off me! Do you know who I am?"

The Vampyrum removed one of her claws from his wing and placed in on his mouth, silencing him.

"No, do you know who _I_ am?" she asked, snarling at him. "My name is Fallon. And unfortunately for you, I'm in charge of these feeble excuses for bats. That means that around here, you take orders from me. You don't eat, you don't drink, you don't even _sleep_ without asking me first."

Goth lifted his free wing and struck her as hard as he could manage. His muscles must have been weak still, because she hardly flinched. Instead, she lunged and clamped her jaws around his shoulder, taking a deep bite. Goth grimaced, but refused to give her the satisfaction of an outburst.

Instead, he quickly flipped over backwards, sending Fallon tumbling behind him. He jumped onto her, lying down on the ground with his flared snout next to her ear.

"No, you listen to _me_," Goth growled. "I am Goth, King of the Vampyrum Spectrum from the Southern Jungle—not some self-important leader of a group of pathetic, lazy wretches. Zotz himself has chosen me to free him from the Underworld, and I will not be pushed around by—"

Fallon hissed, baring her teeth, as she impaled Goth's tail with one of her rear claws. With a grunt, she kicked him off of her, and resumed her previous position, pinning him to the ground. This time, she placed one of her front claws on his chest, right over his heart. Goth felt the tip being driven into his flesh slightly.

"Enough of this!" she shouted at him. "These bats may be wretched lumps, but _I_ am not. I don't care for your weak story, or this 'Zotz' character of yours. I remember when you first arrived here, you could barely move—you were probably inches from death. The Humans must've taken pity on you because they saved your sorry tail. So now, here you are, and you have two choices. You can do as I say and live, or you can try to defy me and be eaten."

Goth growled, completely disregarding his situation. He had Zotz to protect him. "You wouldn't dare attack me!"

Fallon sunk her claw deeper into his chest, drawing blood. She smiled, in a wicked manner that was very similar to his own.

"I would. I've done it before. You're not the first bat to come in spouting some pathetic story about the great pyramids in the south. The males, especially, seem to believe that they have some right to power here. But don't worry, I taught them what happens when they clash wings with me."

Her eyes left his face and moved towards the far corner of the enclosure. Goth lifted his head slightly, and felt his jaw drop in awe.

There were at least four or five carcasses sprawled on the ground. They seemed to vary in age drastically. The oldest ones were hardly more than mere skeletons, but the more recent bodies had enough flesh remaining for Goth to recognize that the corpses were those of Vampyrum Spectrum.

As he lay with Fallon's claw drilling into his chest, Goth's mind was working quickly. He felt ashamed to admit it, but this arrogant bat was strong-willed and clever. Not to mention the sheer amount of muscle she had. He remembered the fat Vampyrum he had nearly killed, and Throbb back at the other Human building: lazy, weak, pathetic. He would need help to escape from this place, and it seemed there could be no better ally than Fallon.

More than that, he realized, Fallon could be of use after he returned to the jungle. The explosion from Voxzaco's disc had exterminated nearly every Vampyrum Spectrum living in the great pyramid. He could mate with Fallon—such a fitting queen she would make—and give rise to a new generation of royal Vampyrum. He would study the stars, collect sacrifices, and he would be ready when the next eclipse came.

"It seems I have been rash," Goth began, trying unsuccessfully to humble his voice. "I had assumed that any bat in charge of such wretched specimens as these would be weak and vulnerable. I was clearly mistaken."

Fallon removed her claw from Goth's chest and eyed him suspiciously. Then again, with her permanently narrowed eyelids, he couldn't be sure if her expression had changed at all. Goth found that it excited him somewhat.

"I hope you're not trying to soften me up," she growled dangerously.

"No, no!" Goth insisted. He planned his next words carefully, "I am merely voicing my disappointment. Surely a bat of your stature desires a more fitting kingdom than this miserable prison. Why rule over a few when you could rule over a thousand, a million?"

This time, Fallon snapped her jaws down dangerously close to his ear. She whispered menacingly.

"If this is some kind of courting attempt," she pointed at the corner of the enclosure again, "That's how Haze died."

Goth ignored this warning. "I speak the truth. I truly am King Goth of the Jungle Vampyrum down south. And I do not plan to stay here. I plan to escape this wretched place and return to my kingdom in the Jungle. If you were to accompany me—"

Fallon wasn't buying his story, and he could tell. She reared slowly, readying for a pounce. Goth seized his chance and threw her off to his side, effectively reversing their positions.

"—I won't take these lies!" Fallon spat at him.

Goth wanted more than anything to sink his jaws into her chest and rip out her heart. It would have given him great pleasure to silence this conceited bat once and for all, but he restrained himself. He needed Fallon. He calmed his voice and continued his proposal.

"These are no lies. Come with me to the jungle, and we could liberate Zotz—oh, trust me, he is real," Goth assured her when she made a noise of scorn, "And together, we could rule over all the world, the living and the dead!"

Fallon simply continued to glare at him, her eyelids falling even lower. "And if I decide not to come with you?"

Goth grinned cruelly, "Then you will have the pleasure of being the first sacrifice ever made to Zotz from within a Human building."

She stared at him, growling slightly. "I'll come, but not for fear of you. I come only to escape the insufferable wretches here." She bared her teeth menacingly, "And none of this changes anything: if you displease me, I _will_ kill you."

Though Goth still had a firm hold on her, he could tell that she was not fighting back with her full strength. Clearly she was genuinely interested in his offer, but he felt worried at her last comment. It was apparent to him that she very well _could_ kill him if he wasn't careful, and he wasn't quite sure whether the idea frightened or excited him.


	9. A Chance Meeting

**Chapter 9: A Chance Meeting**

Goth studied the enclosure carefully from a tree in its centre. After his fight with Fallon, he had set out to search the building thoroughly for an escape. He hade scrutinized every possible exit, but came up short. He was becoming furious with the Humans for imprisoning him yet again.

Suddenly, he felt a cool current of air drift past him, and he pulled his wings in tight to stay warm. He caught himself impulsively checking his wings: the cold reminded him of the bitter northern forests that had given Throbb frostbite. His eyes darted to the ceiling, where a large window was set into the black concrete. The wind must have been coming from somewhere. He thought he could see a thin break in the smooth glass of the window, and sent pulses of sound towards it. The image the returning echoes traced in his mind made him smirk in satisfaction. Surely this—this most unlikely of coincidences—was proof that Zotz was still with him. A plan began to form in the back of his mind; he would have his vengeance after all.

* * *

><p>"Shade, maybe we should wait."<p>

"You wait, I'm going in."

"But you don't even know what's down there."

"Bats. Lots of them."

"Shade," Chinook turned his body, forcing Shade to look at him. "We should go tell Ariel, at least."

He shrugged him off impatiently. "You go tell her. I'll get Marina and my father out of there."

Shade carefully dug his claw into the side of one of the window's many panels, and pulled gently. The pane lifted with surprising ease, and he felt warm air waft out through the opening. The scent was oddly unnerving as it filled Shade's nostrils, but he was so absorbed in the rescue that he couldn't quite make the connection.

"Shade, they'll still be here when we get back. The plan was to go and tell Ariel." He hesitated, "The last time you went darting into a building, things didn't turn out so well."

Shade hated that he was being so reasonable. He was even more disgusted that he sounded exactly like Marina. Of course, he was right. They should think things through, and make a plan, and be careful. Reluctantly, he made to close the window and go with Chinook, but he stopped dead in his tracks as a brilliant, bright blur streaked through the trees inside. The sun glinted brightly off of its forearm.

"Marina!"

Ignoring Chinook's protests, Shade shot into the enclosure, the windowpane slamming shut behind him. He chased after her, soaring through thick fronds and broad leaves, scarcely realizing in his haste that they were entirely out of place. He continued to call out to her, but she seemed unable to hear him as she flew into the dense foliage of a tree. Shade followed, expecting to find her roosting on one of the branches. He passed through the tree's thick leaves and looked around, landing on a supple limb.

She was nowhere to be seen.

It was then that he realized how strange the bark felt beneath his claws—how disturbingly familiar the surrounding vegetation was. Shade suddenly broke out into a cold sweat, comprehension dawning on him as his mind worked furiously, trying to understand what had just happened. His spirits plummeted. That was not Marina; he had just chased a sound illusion, and that could only mean one thing. _No, it couldn't be_, Shade thought, _There's no way he could've survived_. But just as these assurances were running through his head, a mocking voice he recognized all too well sounded behind him.

"Oh Shade, if only you could see your face right now. You look like a bat that has just had his heart torn out. How appropriate."

* * *

><p>Chinook stared down through the skylight, waiting for Shade to return. <em>He probably should have waited<em>, he thought. But of course, Shade was used to this sort of thing; he knew what he was doing. Chinook tapped on the glass absent-mindedly. It was taking Shade a while to return. He wondered if he should go in after him. _Stop being stupid,_ Chinook told himself, _Shade can handle this perfectly fine without your help. Besides, someone probably needs to open the pane again_.

So, Chinook continued to wait, watching the bats fly around inside the fake jungle below him. _Forest_, he told himself, _you're being stupid again. It's a forest_. But it didn't look like a forest, really. The leaves were all wrong, and he could feel a strong heat rising through the glass. The bats didn't look right, either. _Just the glass_, Shade had said.

Chinook lifted the pane curiously. Funny, the glass didn't seem to be distorting anything. He sent out some echoes, and the image in his head depicted the same unusual landscape and vegetation he had seen with his eyes. He tried one more time, directing his sonic pulses at one of the bats roosting in a tree. The silvery picture in his mind seemed off somehow, and he tried to force his sluggish mind to make the connection: strange leaves, strange bats, too much heat…

With a slight jolt of panic, Chinook realized what was happening. The sharp teeth, the strong jaws, the tropical heat and humidity—and Marina, a fake.

There _were_ Vampyrum here.

His stomach lurched: Shade had gone down there.

His mind began to churn, his thoughts becoming faster and clearer in the heat of the moment. He began to argue with himself.

_Shade's gone in, you should go after him—_

_No, I won't be able to help him; we'll both be killed—_

_But you can't just stay here and let him die! He saved your life!—_

_If only I knew some of those fancy sound tricks—_

_You don't need fancy sound tricks, you can take them with your muscles—_

_They have more muscles than I do—_

_Go tell Ariel_

Yes, that was it: _Go tell Ariel_. He took off, pumping his strong, steady wings as hard as he could. He would help his friend; he would get reinforcements.


	10. Questions

**Chapter 10: Questions**

"So what was the purpose of the bands?"

Marina was roosting with Cassiel and Socrates, the latter of which had been tirelessly answering their questions for the past few hours. Socrates seemed to understand everything about the Humans, and his responses were very clear and patient. Marina was beginning to hope that he would come with them if they ever escaped—it was as though Frieda and Zephyr had been combined into a single, much younger bat.

"The bands seem to vary in specific purpose, but they do have one thing in common: identification. If the Humans capture a bat, they place a band of some sort on his or her arm. This band, as the two of you can see, is engraved with Human markings. Each band has a different combination of markings that allow the Humans to tell one bat from another."

"And why would the Humans want to do that?" Cassiel prompted.

"Some Humans, like the ones at the research facility, use the bands to directly track a bat's movement. They have machines that can somehow lead them to whichever bat they choose. Don't worry though," he added, seeing the look on Marina's face, "yours do not serve that purpose. In your case, the Humans are again demonstrating their keen interest in us bats. By capturing bats during the migration process—specifically ones that have been banded already—they can estimate the routes we take and the distances we travel. These things seem to be of extreme interest to them."

"But why do they care?" Marina asked. "How does it affect them?"

Socrates hesitated. Marina had quickly learned that she could always tell how certain he was of his answer based on how long it took him to respond.

"That is, unfortunately, still a mystery. I doubt we will ever know the Humans entirely. But I have a theory."

"And?" His theories always had a convincing ring to them.

"It seems to me that Humans both suffer and benefit from an unnaturally strong, curious nature. They have no predators to worry about, no migrations to prepare…in all, they are in no real danger—they, themselves, are their one and only enemy. It seems that the Humans, unlike most of us, seek answers to questions simply for enjoyment, for the pleasure of knowing. It gives their lives purpose."

Marina found herself nodding. Socrates's explanation made perfect sense. True, it was somewhat anticlimactic—no war, no Nocturna, no exciting transformation, no blind faith. It was plain, and boring, and logical; she could see no reason to doubt it. Marina felt herself smile a bit: _Shade would've been so disappointed_.

"It's very nice of you to answer all of our questions," Cassiel said appreciatively. "But there's still something that's been bothering me."

"Go on," Socrates encouraged. "It is a welcome change to be in the company of bats that share my curiosity."

Cassiel tilted his head, "How did you come to be a Brightwing elder in a Silverwing colony?"

Marina stared at Socrates intently, for this was a question that she had been meaning to ask for quite some time. However, she had forced herself to suppress it, fearing that it would be rude to pry into his past. _How long will it take him to answer?_ she wondered. _Will he answer at all?_

Socrates swallowed and his eyes fell to his claws. "It's a long story, really."

Marina noticed that his smile seemed to fade as he thought carefully about his response. What was he about to say? She was beginning to wonder if she really wanted to know.

"As I'm sure you can imagine," he began, glancing at Marina, "The Brightwing colonies have a horrible reputation of being intolerant. Whenever someone is different, they become paranoid, and they remedy the problem by any means necessary. With you it was your band, with me it was my interest in the Humans. I studied them frequently, getting far closer than the elders advised. I was constantly warned away from them. I was told that I would be captured, tortured, and killed. But my curiosity got the better of me, and I began to see that the Humans posed no real threat." Catching the dubious expression on Marina's face, he added: "Well, not the ones I had been observing anyway. I said as much when I returned, but my colony was not interested. None of them had the slightest bit of curiosity in them. Then, when elders caught wind of the 'rumors' I was spreading, they weren't happy. I was driven out."

Marina nodded sympathetically. She knew what it was like to be shunned by your own colony. She knew what it was like to be forced to leave your family, to feel as though you didn't have a friend in the world. Until she had met Shade, she was certain that she was doomed to just die alone one cold winter night. She tried to say something to comfort him, but Socrates's story was not finished yet.

"I flew alone for many nights, distancing myself from everyone I had ever known. It was very difficult for me: I had to leave my parents, my friends, and my mate-to-be. I was beginning to think that I would live out the rest of my life in solitude when I came across the Silverwings over there." With his claw, he pointed to the tall spruce tree where a number of silver-furred bats hung, sleeping. "They took me in and gave me a home. They were caring, and sympathetic, and never questioned me about my past life. That would have been enough for me, but unfortunately it was not meant to last."

Socrates's face became pained and Marina felt a shiver of premonition as he continued:

"We were attacked by owls one night. It wasn't law enforcement or self-defense, or any other so-called 'valid' excuse: these owls were all alone—just a few friends that thought it would be fun to attack a small group of innocent bats. After all, who's going to miss a few nameless Silverwings? Their assault was brutal. They weren't even concerned with eating us; they were just having a laugh."

Marina felt her stomach clench, her own mind reciprocating the fear that must have gripped the poor bats. Her parents had told her stories, so long ago, of rogue owls that attacked traveling bat colonies in the dead of night, just for fun. Until now, she had never been sure whether to believe them, but looking into Socrates's sorrow-stricken eyes, she knew that this was no simple myth; and it didn't end there.

"It was chaos. We were being slaughtered. Within seconds, nearly half of our number lay limp on the ground, and still the owls showed no signs of backing off. All around me, bats were circling in confusion—they didn't want to be attacked themselves, but they were afraid to leave their loved ones behind. The elders had been flying at the front of the colony, and had been among the first victims, leaving those who were still alive panicked and disorganized. So I made a decision. I took charge, ordering anyone still circling to split up and head into the trees. The owls were unable to follow, and chose to settle down on the ground and pick at the less fortunate ones instead. I can only assume that they must have eaten them one-by-one, because I was already trying to lead the survivors further away. We had suffered severe losses, and everyone was looking for someone turn to, someone to trust with their safety. So they made me chief elder."

He paused for a moment and sighed. "I wish they hadn't."

"But you saved half of the colony!" Marina exclaimed in disbelief.

"That's not such a comforting thought. I saved half, but only after losing half."

"It wasn't your fault," Cassiel reassured him, "You took charge when no one else would, and I'm sure that every one of the bats in that tree over there is grateful to you."

"He's right," Marina agreed, "What else could you have done?"

"Believe me," Socrates answered, "I've asked myself that question countless times."

The three of them roosted in awkward silence, thoroughly depressed. Marina hadn't expected such a dramatic story from Socrates—he had never shown any signs of weakness or trauma. He was always kind, and patient, and helpful, and it made her a little uneasy to see him so undone. She spoke up, hoping to comfort him:

"Look, you've got nothing to feel guilty about. I mean, Shade got his colony's entire roost burned down!"

"_Our_ colony's roost," Cassiel corrected, and Marina felt her spirits lift a little. "And he nearly got us all killed when he led that group to the research building."

Socrates gave a short chuckle. Encouraged, Marina continued:

"He has a talent for getting himself into trouble," she said. "And always manages drag us along with him."

"Sounds exciting." Socrates raised an eyebrow, his usual smile creeping back onto his face. "It seems I never stood much chance with you, Marina. How am I supposed to compete with such a courageous bat?"

Suddenly, he was himself again, and Marina and Cassiel joked and laughed along with him. They told more stories, and asked more questions, but beneath it all Marina found herself worrying that she would never get to have more adventures again—that she would be stuck here forever.

She squinted slightly as the light from the ceiling became more intense. Usually, the glass window dimmed the sun slightly—just enough that the light was bearable. But now her eyes were burning as though she were back outside, in its full glare. She sent echoes towards the ceiling and noticed that one of the panes of the skylight seemed to be ajar. A silver blur streaked through the opening and began circling around the forest, calling out.

"Cassiel! Marina! Are you here?"


	11. Reunion

**Chapter 11: Reunion**

Marina bolted from the branch, speeding towards the new Silverwing. It had to be Shade—who else would be so stubborn? She weaved her way madly through tangles of leaves and branches as Cassiel pulled up beside her, looking just as excited.

"Ariel!"

Marina faltered slightly, and Cassiel flew on ahead of her. She watched awkwardly as Shade's parents met in an airborne embrace, talking eagerly and with evident relief.

She tried to stay happy, but disappointment tugged at her chest: this wasn't how she had pictured her rescue. She had always expected Shade to be the one to come bursting through the skylight to save her.

But her disappointment was short lived, and her heart suddenly leapt back into life: if Ariel was here, Shade couldn't be far behind.

"Marina!"

She was pulled out of her reverie as Ariel flew over and gave her a motherly nuzzle. After some excited greetings, she, Ariel, and Cassiel all landed on a thick branch together, off away from the other bats. As Ariel made a fuss over her—grooming her fur and saying how worried she'd been—Marina reflected on how strange it was to have both of Shade's parents so near without Shade around himself. It was like being part of a family again, but one with a gaping hole.

Ariel turned to her mate anxiously: "You have no idea how worried we've been," she said. "I kept picturing you landing on a building and bursting into flames."

"It's okay, Ariel," Cassiel soothed her. "We're both fine. The Humans here haven't harmed us."

Her face relaxed and she nodded, "Good. Then we got here just in time."

Cassiel was about to explain that this building was different—that these Humans were harmless and they were never in any real danger—but Marina spoke first:

"Where's Shade?"

Ariel looked over at her. "We decided to split up. It was Chinook's idea, actually. He—"

"Chinook's here too?" Cassiel asked, surprised.

Ariel nodded to him, "He's such a loyal bat. When Shade decided to come after you, he wanted to come too."

"So where are they now?" Marina repeated.

Ariel thought for a moment, "They must still be—"

"—Welcome newcomer!"

Socrates had held back for a while, allowing the three friends to re-unite in privacy. Now he was calmly flying towards them, his mouth curved into his usual benevolent smile.

"I take it you are from Marina's and Cassiel's colony?"

Ariel nodded. "Cassiel is my mate". Marina felt Ariel's wing wrap around her gently, "and Marina's been like a daughter to me."

Despite her frustration at the interruption, Marina's heart leapt. It felt good to be wanted.

Socrates raised his eyebrows. "Ah, so you are the mother of this famed 'Shade' Marina has told me so much about."

Marina felt her cheeks burn as Ariel glanced over at her with a strange expression—somewhere between surprise and humor. However, Socrates stole her attention again:

"You must tell me how you've managed to find a way into this enclosure."

"And I'd like to know what you two have been doing all this time," she countered, interrogating Cassiel.

In the end, Ariel had insisted that Cassiel and Marina tell their story first. As they ploughed through the tale of their capture, Marina kept trying to rush things, eager to leave the enclosure and find Shade. However, Cassiel seemed to share his son's flare for story telling, and he enthusiastically took over, filling in the details she had left out. She waited in agony, tapping her claws impatiently as Socrates repeated his own story as well. Finally, it was Ariel's turn to speak.

Marina listened with rapt attention as she explained what had happened after the attack, how the elders had decided against a rescue operation. She told them how Shade, of course, decided to chase after the captured bats anyway. She detailed their journey and the way Shade had used his sensitive ears to listen to the past. All the while, Marina found herself only half-listening as she waited to hear how Ariel had gotten into the enclosure…and how they would get back out.

"We finally found the building, and Chinook suggested that we split up to cover more ground. I took one half, and he and Shade took the other. That's when I noticed the window." She pointed towards the skylight, through which the bright sky glowed with the coming sunset. "When I opened it, I could tell that there were Silverwings inside, so I came in to look for you. I have it held open with a stick right now."

"So we can get back out that way?" Cassiel asked with visible relief.

"If we're quick," Ariel replied, nodding. She turned to Socrates, "I don't want to risk it closing again. We should leave now."

"Of course. Though, I will be sad to see you go." The sincerity of his words was marked with a distinct aging in his features. He sighed forlornly, "I'm greatly appreciative of my own colony and their kindness. They took me in and let me become a part of their family; but I can't say they've ever shared my curiosity, my interests."

Looking into Socrates's eyes, Marina forgot her anxiety over Shade for a moment. She really did feel bad for him. Imagine a life stuck in a fake forest with a group of bats you didn't know very well, or share any common interests. Her eyes were drawn to the few pale rays of sunlight leaking through the open windowpane.

"Why don't you come with us?"

Socrates looked as though he had been hoping for someone to make that very suggestion all along, but he pretended to act surprised.

"That's a very kind offer, but I can't—"

"Of course you can," Cassiel assured him.

"It won't be the first time a smart, kind Brightwing joined our colony," Ariel said, grinning over at Marina.

Socrates nodded humbly, grinning again. "I accept, then."

"I just realized something," Cassiel said. "None of the other Silverwings will want to come with us. They've found such an easy life here."

"This is quite true," Socrates confirmed. "From what little pieces of conversation I've overheard, I've gathered that the others seem content with their new lives."

"It's their loss," Marina said impatiently, unfurling her wings. If she took off now, the others would follow, she thought. She couldn't stand to wait a second longer.

Just as she tensed her legs to fly, another silver-furred bat dropped through the open skylight pane. Marina forced herself not to jump to conclusions this time: this bat was much too large and muscular to be Shade.

"Ariel! Ariel! Where are you?"

"Over here Chinook!"

The strong, eager bat that had been so friendly to Marina when she had first joined the colony was now flying over to their tree frantically. When he arrived, however, he did not settle down on the branch with them, but circled overhead. He looked very scared.

"What's the matter?" Marina asked, "Where's Shade?"

"We were searching our half of the rooftop and we found a window—like that one," he said hurriedly, distractedly pointed at the ceiling. "And Shade thought he had found you. So he opened it up and went in, but I felt like something was wrong. The bats were too big…and the leaves, and the grass. And you were there, Marina—but it wasn't actually you—but Shade thought it was you—why couldn't he tell? It was so obvious…why couldn't I tell?"

He was making less sense with each word that flew from his mouth, as though his mind were slowly unhinging. Ariel tried to calm him down, but his voice grew louder, becoming unintelligible. All the while, Marina was getting more and more worried. Cassiel spoke up:

"Chinook, calm down! Come roost here and catch your breath!"

The bat just shook his head and continued circling. "We have to go help him! They have him! The cannibal bats!"

Marina looked at Ariel and Cassiel, who were exchanging wary glances as though Chinook had gone insane. Admittedly, she was equally confused herself: there weren't any cannibal bats this far up north. She turned to Socrates and saw that his face was grave.

"Oh dear," he said.

Marina knew, with inexplicable certainty, that something bad would come from it, but she asked anyway: "Do you know what he's talking about?"

"Yes. If I understand correctly, your friend has just gotten himself trapped in the South American Bat enclosure. That enclosure is home to a fearsome creature, known as the—"

Marina felt faint as she finished his sentence grimly, "—Vampyrum Spectrum".

* * *

><p>Goth lunged, his jaws diving towards Shade's chest. Knowing this tactic all too well, Shade dropped away from the branch, taking to the air. As he leveled out, he quickly spun a shield around himself, before the cannibal could follow him. As he sprayed out sound before him, he took the returning echoes from ahead and mimicked them, singing them out behind him. Goth would see only what lay ahead of Shade, and not Shade's own body. He was practically invisible.<p>

But Goth knew Shade's tactics as well, and he set off in hot pursuit of his target, firing out sharp darts of sound at random. Shade dipped and rolled, trying to avoid the sonic shells that would penetrate his cloak as if it were a dead snakeskin. It was only a matter of time before the hunter hit his mark. He quickly veered straight up, flipping over and coming down behind Goth. His sound-illusion faltered slightly as he did so, and he knew he would not be able to hold it up much longer. He had been flying all night and most of the day to reach the building. He was exhausted.

Looking up hopefully, Shade saw that the windowpane was closed. Where was Chinook? His throat dried out and he felt his armor falter and shed away from him, but he was still following closely behind Goth, unnoticed. Maybe he could keep this up long enough for Chinook to come back with Ariel and let him out.

Without warning, Something heavy pounced onto Shade's back, knocking all of the wind from his lungs. Sharp claws were digging into his shoulders, driving him towards the ground. After mere seconds of confusion, he hit, the impact sending a wave of pain through his body, and stars burst behind his eyelids. With the little breath that remained in his lungs, he sent out some desperate echoes, trying to get a good look at his assailant.

It was a female Vampyrum: nearly as large and muscular as Goth, with eyes that flashed a look of constant disdain. She had bright bars of fur on her shoulders, and they reminded shade of the military markings some owls had. She leaned towards him with fowl breath, and whispered menacingly, turning him over so she could dig her front claw into his chest.

"I've heard quite the stories about you," she began, unimpressed. "After all of Goth's whining, I was expecting something more menacing than a runty Silverwing with a few magic tricks."

She began to press her claw into his flesh, and Shade began to fear that, this time, he would truly have his heart torn from his chest. He was almost glad to see him when Goth came darting towards the ground, yelling out to his captor in rage.

"Stop, Fallon! He is mine!"

The Vampyrum pinning Shade to the ground narrowed her eyes further, and he wondered if even Goth would be able to survive such a fiery gaze.

"I gave you a fair chance at him, but you failed miserably." She turned her disdainful eyes on Shade, "I saw him just flying along behind you, like it was all some kind of easy game. Look at him now!" she said with a laugh. "I can see the fear in his eyes. This is probably the first time he's ever been attacked by something _threatening_."

Goth roared back at her lividly, "You dare call me incompetent?"

He jumped at Fallon, knocking her off of Shade's wings. He stood over top of her, dominantly: "I am more than capable of killing a pathetic, runty little Silverwing. But this bat is more trouble than you could know."

Fallon snapped back at him fiercely, her teeth only barely falling short of his snout. "Get off of me, Goth! I'm sure you've realized that I would make a far more formidable opponent than some tiny Silverwing."

As he watched them bicker, Shade couldn't help but think, bizarrely, that the two Vampyrum would have made perfect mates. He shook himself a little, getting up and tensing to take flight. He quickly checked to be sure that his collision with the ground had not broken anything, and lifted off of the ground—only to be dragged back to earth by his tail.

Goth had released Fallon and was now staring into Shade's eyes crazily. "Not so fast, dear Shade. There is nowhere for you to go. The window only opens from the outside. You are stuck here with me."

"Then go ahead and kill me," Shade said contemptuously. "Maybe you'll get lucky. Hundredth time's a charm."

"Oh no, Shade. That would not do." Goth's voice became crazed and the fury in his eyes frightened Shade more than his brute strength. "That would be too easy for you—it wouldn't be fair after all of the suffering you have caused me. I think I will keep you alive for a while; I'm in no hurry." His voice became maliciously calm and quiet, "Shade, I am going to break every bone in your pathetic, runty body. I will claw out your eyes, and tear off your ears…of course, I should probably leave you with just one eye, such that you may watch as I claw out your insides…"

He continued on his gory rant, and Shade was beginning to feel helpless. There would truly be no way out this time. He had no help, he had no escape. He began to wonder, dreadfully, whether Nocturna had meant for it to be this way. It was as though he was doomed to die by Goth's teeth.

Then he thought of Marina, and how he still hadn't rescued her. Would Chinook and his mother be able to save her without him? And what if they got caught too?

They needed him.

He drew a slow, silent breath, and focused his mind. Careful to be discreet, he prepared himself to drive a sonic spike into Goth's throat. That would be enough to free him—he would worry about escaping when the time came. He opened his mouth wide and was promptly smacked across the face by a stiff and powerful wing.

"Not so fast," Fallon ordered him tauntingly. "I don't think we're in the mood for any of your little sound tricks."

Goth grinned in the most unpleasant way imaginable. "I think I shall start now," he said, placing his claw at the base of Shade's ear. He provided no explanation, but Shade knew what he was going to do: he would tear his ears from his head, effectively blinding him.

"No!" Fallon said, pushing Goth away. "We can't risk it. If you let him live a minute longer, he might escape. He must be dead."

She placed her claw on his chest again, pressing down. "Say 'good morning'".

Shade found himself a little disappointed at her taunt—Goth was definitely much better with such lines. Still, he refused to cower or plead, and simply tried to stare into Fallon's eyes defiantly. However, he found it difficult due to the bright glare of the setting sun, shining through the skylight, forcing him to squint. Though he was surely seconds from having his still beating heart ripped from his chest, Shade began to wonder why the light from the window hadn't bothered him before. Then he realized that he was looking straight at the sun, without anything to obstruct his view.

The windowpane was open.


	12. Clones

**Chapter 12: Clones**

Shade watched as two blurs slammed into Fallon, knocking her off of him and onto the ground. He looked over to find Marina and Chinook standing on her back, grinning at him madly.

"Just once, I'd like to go a full week without having to save your life," Marina complained. But she was smiling at him, and it made Shade's heart swell that she seemed so genuinely happy to see him.

"Let's go," Chinook said. "Ariel's holding the window open."

"What about Goth?"

Marina pointed over to Goth's body, sprawled on the ground, his face in the dirt. On his back stood his father, Cassiel, and a Brightwing he didn't recognize. The strange bat nodded to him.

"Socrates," he said by way of introduction.

"Shade."

"Oh, I know," he replied, glancing mysteriously at Marina.

The group launched into the air, flying for the opening in the skylight. With his superior strength and speed, Chinook pulled ahead of the rest, passing into the outside air and circling above them. Cassiel joined him shortly afterward. Marina was next, but just as she came up to the ceiling, Fallon's voice rang out from below.

"Stop them you fools! If you let them go, you'll join the others that have displeased me!"

At least twenty other Vampyrum sprung from their roosts fearfully. Most were fat and unfit, but their three-foot wingspans allowed them to easily overtake Shade, Socrates, and Marina. Just as the group came within ten wingbeats of freedom, a chubby cannibal blocked their path, flaring its wings and snapping its jaws. They veered away sharply, only to be met by more thrashing teeth.

By this time, Goth and Fallon had recovered and taken to the air, pushing their way past the weaker Vampyrum.

"They'll catch us soon," Socrates observed. He did not sound afraid or worried, just grimly resigned.

Marina let out a yell of surprise and Shade looked over at her anxiously. Her tail had gotten caught between the jaws of a Vampyrum, and she winced in pain as a small portion of the membrane tore loose. If he didn't do something quickly, they would all be killed.

He felt his fatigue worse than ever, and was tempted to just surrender; but then Marina looked over at him with an expression of expectant desperation, and the fear in her eyes gave him the strength to spin another sound illusion.

It was far more complex than anything he had ever attempted before, but it would give them time to find a way out. He carefully washed over Socrates's body with sound, familiarizing himself with the Brightwing's appearance. He did the same to Marina, but more as one might take a last, fleeting glance when faced with almost certain death. He knew her features well, but once he started, he would have few echoes left for vision, and he couldn't bear the thought of dying without seeing her one last time.

Shade drew a deep breath and began. He sent out hundreds of sonic mirages, each one a fake bat mimicking the appearance of Socrates, Marina, or himself. Soon, the enclosure was filled with sonic clones, all flapping about realistically. With the last of his strength, Shade sung out a weak invisibility cloak around them all and used his eyes to watch that he didn't collide with any of the confused Vampyrum.

"Amazing," Socrates said in awe, clearly watching the projections flee from their attackers.

Shade had no breath to spare for thanks, so he began to search the enclosure with his eyes for a way out. He couldn't risk the window, lest some of the Vampyrum escape—that would put Chinook and his parents in danger. Marina seemed to pick up on what he was doing because she began calling out possible exits to him.

"We could try the stream down there. It worked at the other building."

Shade shook his head no, and Socrates voiced his agreement.

"Too risky. It probably leads to a mechanical pump. The current would press us against the filter, and we'd drown. I think we should be looking for a vent of some kind."

Shade spotted a metal duct on one of the walls, near the ground, and pointed to it with his wing before quickly resuming the rhythmic beating of his wings.

Marina looked skeptical. "I don't know. How are we supposed to get the grate off?"

"That is a good question," Socrates replied. "It is likely screwed in place. The Humans have a special tool they use to rotate the uniquely threaded metal rods and remove them. I don't see any way for us to do the same."

"Shade can do it," she said without hesitation.

Shade looked over at her in surprise. He was flattered that she was so confident in his skills, but she seemed to be asking quite a lot from him. How was he supposed to keep up his illusions, shield them from view, and remove the screws at the same time?

"Don't look at me like that!" Marina said testily. "You got us into this, and you'll get us out." Her voice softened, "I believe in you, Shade. You've gotten us through worse than this."

Shade nodded, and his face burned with pride as they set down on the jungle floor. His good mood was deflated slightly, however, when he eyed the screws on the grate. They looked intimidating: very thick, and securely attached—as though the screws and the grate were all part of a single piece. He turned to Socrates and Marina, waiting patiently for his assessment.

"Can you do it?" Socrates asked lightly.

Shade thought about it carefully. His throat was already raw, and he could taste blood. Above him, he could see that significantly fewer of his sonic illusions remained than he had originally spun. The Vampyrum were hastily sinking their teeth into each survivor, shattering them into millions of tiny beads of sound. Time would be short, and he would need more power.

"I think so," he gasped, still trying to maintain the remaining copies. "But I'll have to take off our invisibility cloak to do it. They'll be able to see you."

"We'd better get flying so that they don't notice us all standing around the grate," Marina said. "But do it quickly," she added in a whisper.

They left his side to keep watch for any Vampyrum, and he set to work. He carefully crafted a square rod out of sound, and stuck it gently into the head of the first screw. Now came the tricky part: he tentatively tried to rotate the rod, but the screw remained securely attached to the grate. It would not budge. He doubled his efforts, closing his eyes and ears in concentration, fearing all the while that his vocal chords would snap from the strain. He knew that a good twenty of his fake bats must have withered with the effort, but the screw finally began to turn. In a matter of seconds, it fell to the ground with a soft thud.

One.

He set to work on the remaining screws, and just as a small headache began to form at the base of his skull, the grate finally came loose. He scrambled into the ventilation shaft, carefully checking that it was safe before he called out to Marina and Socrates. They turned towards him in the air and began to flap vigorously, not wanting to remain in the open a second longer. As they approached, Shade lifted the grate with his voice, prepared to replace it once they were all safe.

Marina shot past him first, nearly knocking him over, and landed with a dull clanging noise as her claws hit the metal.

"The illusions are falling apart," she told him, getting to her feet. "They don't look anything like us anymore, and I'm pretty sure Goth noticed."

Shade winced, "I was trying to keep them going, but the screws were in really tight."

"It's okay. We're safe now."

He nodded, "As soon as Socrates gets here." He stuck his head out of the vent to check on the Brightwing and gasped in shock. His heart clenched. Ignoring Marina's confused protest, he grimly replaced the grate onto the front of the vent.

* * *

><p>Goth lunged left and right furiously, his anger and disappointment rising each time his teeth smashed together, empty. Sound…it was all just sound. Again and again he would sink his teeth into Shade's neck, only to find his jaws filled with air. He looked around hopelessly: by the time he finished systematically destroying all of these illusions, Shade would be long gone.<p>

As he came up on his next victim—a copy of Marina—Goth noticed that the features seemed distorted and wavy, unclear. It was like looking at a reflection in an icicle. He realized that all around him, the small bats were becoming sluggish and less defined.

Except one.

He could see the sharp outline of a Brightwing flapping furiously, speeding towards one of the black walls intently. It hit him that this bat did not appear wavy or distorted at all—it was real.

Goth grunted in triumph and quickly flared his wings, turning sharply towards the wall. He would intercept the bat. He would finally sink his teeth into flesh. He sent a barrage of echoes at the bright blur, calculating its speed and adjusting his own so that their paths would meet.

With a satisfying crunch, his teeth closed around the small bat's neck, and he felt it go limp. Goth relished in the taste as its warm blood leaked down his throat. This bat was no illusion. Everything else was momentarily forgotten as he settled down to his prey.


	13. Escape

**Chapter 13: Escape**

They scuttled along through the vent in silence. Neither of them seemed to be able to shake the image of Socrates, his bright body lying limp in Goth's jaws. There was no sense of excitement or accomplishment at their narrow escape this time—just gloomy quiet.

Shade looked over at Marina. She must have been taking it much harder than him. She had actually gotten to know the Brightwing before he died, and he wondered if she would be okay. He felt a jealous tingle in his spine: exactly how much had she cared for Socrates?

"I can't believe he's still alive," she said bitterly. "He didn't even have any scars."

Shade merely nodded slightly, remembering Goth's unhindered strength and untarnished wings. It was as though he had only just been born.

They continued through the metal shaft, stopping at each grate they found along the way. Shade enjoyed these short rests, for crawling was tiring work for a bat, but they didn't stay in one spot too long, lest Goth come chasing after them. They reached yet another grate and Shade gave it a half-hearted push.

He shook his head despairingly, "Locked tight."

Marina sighed impatiently, "Why do I let you talk me into these things, Shade?"

He forced himself to bite back his response. Arguing would be of no help. They were both tired, and she had lost a good friend. When he spoke, he tried to sound confident, but his voice lacked conviction:

"We'll just have to keep going," he said. "It has to come out somewhere."

Marina just shook her head and turned away coldly before continuing to scuttle forward along the cool metal duct. Shade looked after her longingly for while before following. This wasn't quite the reunion he had hoped for.

* * *

><p>Goth licked his lips clean, savoring the warm, salty bat blood after all of the paltry rats the Humans had fed him. He cocked his head curiously, taking in the Brightwing's features. Goth had originally thought that he had caught Marina. It would have given him great pleasure to know that he had caused Shade such great emotional pain, but he soon realized that this was some other bat. It was male for one thing, with strange markings around its eyes, and it had no band around its arm. Regardless, it was a satisfying meal, and it amplified his urge to escape.<p>

Now that his craving for meat had been satisfied, Goth began to wonder what had become of the other two bats. The sound imitations had died out some time ago, and none of the other Vampyrum had yet been able to find their flesh-and-blood counterparts. He looked over at the wall that the Brightwing had been flying towards so desperately. What was so special about that wall?

Goth circled, staring at the dark, flat face of concrete. He sent pulses of sound towards it at different angles, trying to find something unusual. Nothing. He settled down on the ground of the false jungle, trying to clear his head. He unexpectedly found himself face-to-face with a metal grate. Through thin slits in the metal, Goth could see a long tunnel stretch away into darkness that even his echoes could not penetrate. He was reminded vividly of his escape from the other Human building, and smirked appreciatively. And the screws had already been removed.

"And where are you going?"

Goth grimaced unpleasantly. He was already halfway into the metal shaft when Fallon had arrived.

"To kill Shade Silverwing," he replied simply.

"I don't understand what your obsession is with that bat," she said mockingly. "Maybe its time you let it go."

Goth turned to her, furious. "That bat got me struck by lightning, thwarted Zotz's rise from the Underworld, and killed millions of my kind! He is a pathetic, runty bat that always gets the better of stronger creatures than himself through sheer luck, and stupid tricks, and his annoying little friends, and…" Goth faltered, realizing how he must sound. He forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down—he would need Fallon's help.

"Shade and his Brightwing friend went through here," he said, indicating the vent. "Which means that it must lead outside."

"How do you know that?"

"I just know!" he snapped.

Fallon was silent for a moment, and Goth couldn't tell whether her eyes betrayed her usual disdain or genuine contemplation. He grew more and more impatient, knowing all the while that Shade was getting further beyond his reach.

"I'd better come with you," she said, "You might need my help. What would you do if you came across more runty northern bats without me around to protect you?"

Goth couldn't tell whether she was mocking him, or being playful, and it made him strangely uncomfortable. Either way, he promised as he shook himself from Fallon's gaze, he was going to be free, and he couldn't help but smile. _I'll rip out your heart yet, Shade Silverwing_.

* * *

><p>Shade's claws were badly worn from all of the crawling. He was beginning to wonder if the vent really did come out somewhere. He looked over at Marina, scuttling along a bit ahead of him, her claws bloody. They hadn't spoken for what felt like hours, and Shade wanted to make things up with her.<p>

He swallowed uncomfortably: _Just in case_.

"I'm sorry," he offered softly.

Marina sighed heavily, "It's not your fault Shade. Some bats are incapable of making rational decisions."

"I was just worried that Humans were going to attach explosives to you," he said defensively. Then more quietly: "I didn't want you to get hurt."

"You're all heart."

He felt his anger building slightly, "I could've left you here, like all of the other bats in our colony!"

She turned to look at him angrily, "At least then I wouldn't be clawing my way through some endless vent, running for my life yet again!"

"So you'd rather being living in that fake forest, all by yourself? Without Ariel, without Chinook." He paused, "Without me?"

"At least I'd be _living_! And I wouldn't be alone, either. I had Cassiel, and Socrates."

"And I suppose it's my fault now that he's dead?"

"It does seem that way, Shade."

For a moment Shade could think of nothing else to say. He had come all this way to rescue her, and for what? To be yelled at? To argue and bicker and be treated like dirt?

"So you would've been fine just sitting around in a tree all day, while the Humans did everything for you? What kind of a life is that?"

He began to tremble slightly as he drew near to the core of his fears. It was with a shaky voice that he said it, "And I suppose Socrates would've been your mate too."

The second the words had come out of his mouth, he knew that he had made a mistake. Her face was inscrutable in the few seconds before he broke her gaze uncomfortably, slightly ashamed of himself.

"If it's really bothering you that much Shade, yes. He asked me to be his mate. And do you know what I said? I said no! I said that I couldn't stay here and leave Chinook, and Ariel, and you behind! Does that make you feel better?"

Shade felt guilty for it, but she had said exactly what he was hoping to hear. He felt his anger melt away, just being able to be near her again. She was angry with him, but he had gotten used to it by now, and he welcomed it with all his heart. It was one of the many small things that made her Marina, and he loved it.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I should've known you wouldn't just give up on me. I should've known you were a better friend than that."

"A much better friend," Marina corrected him tersely, but he could tell that her face was softening a bit.

They crawled in silence for a while longer before Marina spoke again.

"I'm sorry too."

Shade just smiled at her. Things were right again.

"Look, there's another grate up there," she pointed out, with a slight hint of forced enthusiasm.

Shade didn't feel very confident himself, but he dutifully gave the grate a good shove. He cried out, nearly falling through the opening as the metal grate fell away and landed with a muffled thud below.

"Smooth, Shade," Marina commented, but this time she was grinning.

He returned the smile ruefully and looked out at the scene before them. It was another forest, very similar to the one at the first Human building—a "research facility", he had been told. Shade could make out the plumage of thirty or forty owls perched amongst the trees, all in a deep sleep.

"Do you think we should ask them if they know a way out?" Marina asked.

Shade shook his head uncertainly, "If they knew a way out, why would they still be here?"

"Maybe they like it here. They don't have to compete for food, it never gets cold, there aren't any predators…what, Shade?"

"You seem to have given this a lot of thought," he said suspiciously.

"Yeah, well we might not be here if you tried exercising a little thought from time to time." Her tone was irritated, but her eyes betrayed a trace of guilt. Shade decided not to press her; there would be time later. He looked back out at the slumbering owls nervously.

"I know we're at peace and everything," he began, "But I'm not sure flying into a small room with forty owls is a good idea."

"But we could crawl through this vent all night and never find anything."

Shade hesitated nonetheless. He didn't like the idea one bit. Something about this whole situation seemed wrong to him, and he couldn't quite decide what it was.

Suddenly, his ears perked up, trying to catch the faint, distorted echoes of movement wafting through the shaft. He turned to Marina.

"I think I hear someone coming," he whispered.

He saw her flare her own ears, listening hard. "Is it Goth?"

"I can't tell." Of course he could tell, though. Who else would follow them this stubbornly?

"I guess it's into the owl cage then," Marina said, jumping through the opening.

* * *

><p>Goth despised crawling through the vent like some kind of miserable rat. It was degrading, and painful—most unsuitable for a King. He looked ahead at Fallon. She had insisted upon going first, of course, and he had conceded, not wanting to waste time with a dispute. He still wasn't sure how he felt about the conceited Vampyrum, but he was secretly glad she was with him. She shared his ruthlessness, his strength, his pride—Goth had never known a worthier ally. However, she also shared his arrogance, and it infuriated him to no end.<p>

"You'd better hope you're right about this," Fallon growled through clenched teeth.

"The runt always finds a way out," Goth snarled confidently. "His cowardice is surpassed only by his stubbornness."

She grunted doubtfully, and Goth restrained the urge to sink his teeth into her tail. Instead, he forced himself to take an optimistic approach to the matter.

"Think Fallon: we will soon be free. We will soon return to the great Vampyrum pyramids of the South."

Goth's voice became wistful as he reminisced about his homeland: "The lush canopies, the soothing heat…and the food is altogether more satisfying. The prey has life in it, puts up a good fight—a little challenge will be welcome after the meager rats they feed us here…"

Fallon interrupted his reverie, "You seem to have very simple pleasures Goth. Is your whole motivation in leaving this place the promise of more difficult hunting?"

Goth snorted derisively. "Not just hunting! We will be royalty! Surrounded by loyal subjects—and much more impressive subjects they will be. In the Jungle, there are no weak Vampyrum; no fat, lazy, pathetic rats with wings."

"_We_ will be royalty?" she questioned curiously. "If you are the one with _noble _blood, how am I to ensure my position?"

Goth stopped for a moment, and she did too, looking back at him with her disdainful eyes. She expected to enjoy a high status as her reward—as he knew too well—but the only way to ensure her place among the Vampyrum was to make her queen.

He would have to mate with her.

That had always been his plan, but he shuddered to think of mentioning it to her quite yet. Goth was stronger than Fallon, now that his injuries had healed, but only just. If she turned on him in outrage, he would be grievously harmed. Likely, he would not be able to return to the Jungle, so weakened and alone.

Fallon let out a bark of a laugh and broke his gaze, continuing to scuttle along the floor of the ventilation shaft. The look in her eyes as she had turned away irked him, and Goth's dignity got the better of him.

"And what is so funny?" he demanded.

"I know full well what your plan is for me," she looked over her shoulder at him, and for once, her usually disdainful eyes conveyed obvious mockery. "You expect me to be your mate."

Her open ridicule sparked a strange feeling in Goth's chest. His insides constricted and his eyes burned. He was angry, to be sure, but something else accompanied his fury—something Goth had never felt before. He could only describe it as a sort of strong disappointment, and it scared him. No other creature had ever stirred emotion in him. To think that he had feelings for Fallon made him feel sick, and he promptly pushed the idea from his mind.

Refusing to give in to her taunt, Goth regained his composure.

"And if that was my plan?" Goth inquired dryly.

Fallon laughed some more, and simply carried on in silence. This time, Goth felt only frustration. How she acted so mighty! He could rip out her heart right now. There were plenty of other female Vampyrum in the Jungle, all of which would happily mate with him and give rise to a new royal family. He would find someone less strong-willed. _No_, Goth thought, _that would be unacceptable_. His queen needed to be fierce, and strong, and capable. Fallon was arrogant, but that could be useful. He had failed in his task alone, but perhaps together they could succeed. They could bring Zotz into the Upper World. They could kill the sun.

"Well, Goth," Fallon said after some time. "There may be hope for you yet."

She stopped, pointing down the shaft with her claw. Goth sang out a wave of sound, and the image painted in his head made him smirk: the next grate was open.


	14. Bad Idea

**Chapter 14: Bad Idea**

"This is hopeless," Marina concluded in a whisper.

They had flown the entire perimeter of the owl enclosure, and nothing stood out as an obvious exit. They had decided to search the area themselves, as Shade was still reluctant to wake the room's inhabitants. The owl enclosure was very similar to the bat enclosure: it contained similar trees, a small pond, the vent they had come through, and another skylight.

"We have to ask someone, Shade."

He shook his head in reluctance, "I still don't know…"

"Come on, Shade," she hissed, rolling her eyes. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to get out of here before Goth shows up!"

Shade winced at her outburst, "Shh! I don't want to wake the owls up."

A voice sounded behind them, awfully close. "That's very considerate of you, but I'm afraid it's too late."

Shade nearly careened over in shock as an owl pulled up beside him, its silent wings churning the air effortlessly. How long had it been following them?

The owl jerked its head beckoningly, "Come with me."

Shade and Marina obeyed, trailing behind in the owl's smooth wake as it led them through the enclosure. They weaved their way through the dense foliage, which Shade realized had made it hard to tell just how populated the enclosure truly was. At each tree they passed, the owls roosting among its branches would follow them with their eyes, still staring long after they were gone. It was very disconcerting. The faces changed from owl to owl—some were curious, some disdainful, and some downright angry—but they all watched the convoy with the same, vigilant intensity. Shade had a bad feeling about the whole situation.

"Wait here," their escort ordered them as they settled down in a regal maple tree. He quickly took off again, heading into the higher reaches of the tree's branches without a backward glance.

"They seem pretty friendly so far," Marina whispered, although she too looked apprehensive.

The bats and the owls had been at peace for only a few weeks, and most still felt very uncomfortable in the presence of these giants that had, only days ago, been mortal enemies. Shade couldn't blame them. When you were faced with the brute strength, sharp beak, and hooked claws, you couldn't help but want to fly away.

"He must be going to get their leader," Shade speculated. "Maybe he'll help us. Maybe he knows a way out."

"Maybe," Marina said, unconvinced.

"Well they haven't eaten us yet."

"Yet," Marina pointed out pessimistically. "Doesn't this feel like a trial to you?"

Looking around, Shade noticed for the first time that the surrounding branches were filled with owls, all lined up in neat rows. Some of the onlookers were whispering to their neighbours, and still every single pair of baleful eyes was focused on the two bats. Shade realized that he and Marina were perched on the tree's lowest limb.

"What are they saying?" Marina wondered out loud, uneasily.

Shade calmed his breathing and flared his ears, trying to tune in to the whispered exchanges all around him. If he strained hard enough, he could just catch small snippets of conversation, and the general tone wasn't at all reassuring:

"…when did they get here? Weren't even expecting more owls until…"

"…I saw Captain Sommers arrest them just now. He caught them looking for…"

"…why have they come here? I can't imagine how they could…"

"…that one's been marked by the Humans. Do you think she…"

"…surely they're not a threat; they're too small. Especially the runty one, he…"

"…the Colonel will know how to handle this, he always…"

"…must be spies. Why else…"

"…wouldn't put anything past the bats…"

"Attention!"

Shade craned his neck upwards towards the source of the voice and could roughly make out the white plumage of the owl that had first found them—Captain Sommers, he assumed. Beside the Captain was a much smaller owl, whose feathers had grayed slightly with age. His eyes were not quite as piercing as the Captain's, but reflected vague intelligence.

As the Captain and his companion spiraled down to roost on a branch just above Shade and Marina, the other owls fell silent, standing very stiffly. Their large eyes were aimed straight ahead of them, and Shade was grateful to finally be free of their scrutiny.

"These are the bats, sir," the Captain reported deferentially.

"I see."

Whoever he was, this other owl was quite different from the captain. He didn't look at Shade and Marina with scorn or mistrust. He seemed to give off an aura of fairness, as though he considered the bats equals rather than inferior beings. Shade felt his fear ebb away, just slightly, and he smiled over at Marina encouragingly. Somehow, this owl would make things right.

"And what are your names, if I may ask?"

"I'm Shade Silverwing, from Tree Haven."

The owl nodded gently, turning its soft eyes on Marina.

"Marina Brightwing," she said. "I'm from the same colony."

"This is Lieutenant-Colonel Blake," the Captain informed them curtly, though some contempt leaked through his words. "He's the commanding officer here in the owl enclosure of sector—"

"Thank you, Captain. You may return to the ranks."

The Captain did not move for a moment, and his eyes flashed somewhat resentfully at his superior. Clearly, the Captain did not think highly of his commander, and Shade felt worried for the old owl. Sommers was obviously much larger and much stronger. How did Blake keep him in line?

But finally, Sommers obeyed, taking off and landing amongst the dozens of other owls. Their many eyes had resumed their rapt stare, and Shade began to feel uneasy again.

"I don't know how you bats got here, and I'm not going to ask," the Colonel began. "I've never been one to care for details, so I'll keep things quick. No doubt you two know where you are and what this place is. To us, it is a safe haven from the harsh environment outside these strong walls. We turned our backs on the outside world and started a new life. Here, we still maintain our military conduct and discipline, but our ethics have changed drastically, and for the better I feel."

"I disagree!" one of the spectators exclaimed.

"We were wrong to forget our duties to King Boreal!" another agreed.

"Silence!" the Colonel demanded, with surprising strength. This quieted the discontent owls, but Shade could still hear some unhappy murmurings. He felt his anxiety rise, fearing that their one ally might not have the power to help them.

"What happens outside of this enclosure," the Colonel continued, raising his voice to stifle the whisperings, "Is of no concern to us. The way I see it, you bats have come here bearing no signs of ill intentions. Therefore, I feel that it is only fair to award you the benefit of the doubt, and allow you to leave unharmed."

Marina let out an audible sigh of relief, but somehow Shade knew that it would not be so simple. Sure enough, more dissidents sprouted amongst the ranks of surrounding spectators, and their strength seemed to be growing.

"This is a gross betrayal of owl law!" someone burst out. "You're growing soft and senile Blake—so quick to assume innocence. These two are our enemies! How do we know that these bats aren't spies?"

"Spies!" Shade blurted out uncontrollably. "Why would we need spies? The owls and the bats are at peace now!"

"A likely story," a new owl jumped in. "We may be cut off from the outside world, but we are no fools!"

"No, it's true!" Marina pleaded, "Just a few weeks ago we came to a truce. We agreed that the Humans were our real enemies!"

Her words were met by stunned silence.

"They seem to be treating us just fine at the moment." The sarcastic replied broke the shocked quiet, and suddenly the whole tree was in uproar.

"I say we kill them!"

"Tear off their wings!"

"They'll not leave here in one piece!"

"No!"

The Colonel flared his wings angrily and a reluctant hush fell over the crowd. "When I first arrived here, long before any of you naïve and foolish hatchlings, I vowed to put an end to the flawed system in which I was raised. Maybe there were reasons for the way we treated the bats, and maybe there weren't. But it was so caught up in politics, and corruption, and ages of silly resentment, that I couldn't bring myself to trust our rulers any longer. When I found this place—and what a paradise it was! Free of the cold, free of danger—I promised myself that I would resist the old prejudices I had been forced to adopt. Our new society is to be one of justice and fairness. I will not kill two bats that have committed no crimes, just as I would not kill two owls that have committed no crimes. All that we have been taught is based on arbitrary rules that demand our hatred towards other species!"

"An arbitrary rule!" someone blurted out indignantly.

"There were reasons for the laws we made!"

"The bats are traitors!"

"Enough!" the Colonel said, but the effect was weaker this time. Shade found himself dreadfully doubting the commander's power. "I will not see these bats come to harm!"

Shade was reminded of Orestes—the only other owl that had stood up for the bats. He had been instrumental in the peace treaty between the two species. And now, another owl stood before them, willing to risk everything for what he knew was right.

"I think we've taken the old crone's orders long enough," a particularly muscular owl said to its neighbour. Its voice was just above a whisper, as though experimenting—trying to see who would support him and who would fight him. His face was fierce, and Shade worried that the owl's gaze alone could overpower the Colonel.

Shade let his gaze shift over the other owls—there must have been over fifty of them. Each was slightly nodding its head or staring at their leader contemptuously, weighing its options. He was witnessing a terrible mutiny, and Shade began to feel sorry for the old owl. It seemed that he and Marina always had the best of timing. Captain Sommers set down beside Lieutenant-Colonel Blake, and Shade feared that he too was about to overthrow him. To his surprise, Sommers spoke gently:

"Colonel, maybe it's time you retired. You've been a good leader, but you don't have the strength for these kinds decisions anymore."

He had the air of trying to defuse a situation carefully, before anyone got hurt or did something foolish. The Colonel's eyes lost their ferocity and seemed to dim slightly. His head drooped for a moment, lost in thought, before turning towards Sommers.

"I knew I would never be able to exert a hold on this group much longer. You're all too young, too foolish to understand. But I have hope still. Hope that one day, not so long after I'm gone, you'll realize just what fools you were."

"I've had enough of all this talk," the burly owl from before snarled as he jumped down beside Marina. "Out of respect for my superiors, I won't kill you," he said, "But I can't risk letting you fly back to your elders. I think pecking off your wings will be a fair compromise."

"Leave them alone, Sergeant!" The Colonel said, coming between Marina and the younger owl.

"I thought we made things clear, Blake: you're not in charge anymore."

The fallen leader took a deep breath, his eyes blazing for the first time. "Perhaps, Sergeant. But I refuse to sit idly by as my morals are so openly violated. If you want to attack these bats, you'll have to kill me first!"

"That's easily enough arranged."

In the blink of an eye, the Sergeant was on top of the Colonel, snapping at him with his beak. Their wings were a blur, indiscernible from each other, feathers flying everywhere as the two owls screeched madly.

"No!"

A third owl swooped down and grasped Blake with his claws, carrying him away to safety. All to quickly, a vast battle broke out around them, loyalists and dissidents fighting savagely. The Sergeant hooted indignantly, scoffing at the Colonel's savior.

"You're lucky Patterson was here to save you, you old geezer!" His eyes returned to Marina malignantly. "I'm sorry, but I'll need to confiscate your wings."

Marina tried to make a break for it, but the Sergeant deftly hopped onto her back, pinning her to the branch. Shade tried to help her, but he too was swiftly pressed against the bark, his wings stretched wide by an owl's talons. The limb's wood dug into his cheek, forcing his head to the right where Marina stared back at him. Her face was contorted in pain, the Sergeant's claws digging into her skin. The crushing weight of the owl's body on his back made it difficult to breathe—Shade had no air to spare for echo projections. There would be no escape.

"I'm sorry, Marina," he gasped. The owl was not the only weight on his chest as he spoke. "This is all my fault."

To his surprise, she smiled weakly. "I have to admit, Shade: it was fun while it lasted."

"You'll want to stay very still, little bat," the Sergeant warned her, calm and oddly detached from the war raging around him. "Believe me: you don't want me to miss."

He raised his head to strike—and very slowly at that. To Shade, time had slowed dramatically, and each breath seemed to take hours. With agonizing suspense, the Sergeant's sharp beak descended towards Marina's extended forearm. Surely, Shade thought, it would not hit its mark. Surely someone would save them before impact.

It was not so.

With a sickening thud, the owl's beak penetrated Marina's wing. Shade yelled out in horror, feeling the pain course through his own membrane as he watched Marina scream and writhe. His stomach lurched and his mind raced—he had never heard Marina scream like that. He wanted to claw out his own ears just to drown the noise.

"Marina!"

Hearing his own terrified voice only made things worse as blood oozed from her fresh wound, and he marveled that he was still conscious. He marveled that anything could still exist at all. Surely the world had come to an end, so excruciating was the pain in his heart as he watched the Sergeant torture her. This couldn't be happening.

But it was happening, as the anguish on Marina's face made all too clear.

The owl raised its head again, and Shade tore his gaze from Marina's wounded wing. He couldn't bear to watch any longer. It took a great effort to turn his eyes, for his head was still pressed firmly against the tree's limb. His panicking mind only vaguely sensed his own guard-owl rearing back to strike when his eyes focused on a strange, dark shape fluttering around the enclosure. It seemed to be searching for something.

His vision suddenly became clearer, snapping into focus, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Marina was bleeding—practically dying, in Shade's mind—and he was soon to suffer as well. There was chaos all around them as those loyal to the fallen Colonel fought to suppress the usurpers. And now, Shade watched as the one thing that could make the entire situation worse approached them determinedly from the other side of the enclosure. Shade smiled inexplicably.

Goth.


	15. Unlikely Rescue

**Chapter 15: Unlikely rescue**

"These bats are _mine_!" Goth roared as he collided heavily with the burly owl holding Shade. "I alone will have the pleasure of ripping out their hearts!"

Just down the branch, Fallon had already closed her jaws around the Sergeant's throat, killing him swiftly with a horrendous crunch. The body fell limply towards the earth, its wings still twitching sporadically. He had never known what hit him.

"I see what you mean now, Goth," Fallon said appreciatively. "These bats do seem to stir up a lot of trouble."

"Ah, Shade," Goth said in mock admiration. "How you always manage to wreak havoc in the lives of beasts much strong and smarter than yourself. It seems, however," he paused, indicating the revolution surrounding them, "that it has worked to my advantage this time."

"Not quite."

Three owls descended from the higher reaches of the maple tree, screeching. Two landed on Goth's shoulders, pecking madly, and the third attacked Fallon. The stunned Vampyrum were knocked from the branch, slipping free of their assailants' grips before recovering and turning back to fight. A fourth owl set down next to Shade.

"Greetings, Shade Silverwing. I am Lieutenant Patterson."

Shade didn't respond; his head was still swimming. Everything was happening too fast, and he couldn't keep things straight anymore. Had this owl just saved him? Was it even a different owl than had been there before? Through the din of the ongoing struggle for power, and the haze that lingered from nearly having his wings torn off, Shade loosely remembered that this was the owl that had helped save Colonel Blake. Patterson didn't seem to be expecting a response, because he nodded and continued.

"My unit and I were brought here only recently," he explained. "We know of the treaty between the birds and the bats."

"Then why—?"

The Lieutenant shook his head, "It was too dangerous to vouch for you in front of everyone—there was too much tension. Besides that, there was still hope of Blake holding on to his power. But that's irrelevant. Right now, you and your friend need to get out of here. The rebels will realize what's happening soon enough. I'm afraid they'll likely overpower us."

Shade nodded, grateful for the owl's help. He couldn't think of a way to thank him. He got up hastily—he and Marina had no time to spare.

Marina.

He turned towards her. She was lying on the branch, unmoving. Her wing was still bleeding and her eyes were closed.

"Marina!" He made his way over to her.

She seemed hear him, murmuring something indistinguishable in reply, but she didn't open her eyes. The wound in her wing was already clotting, and Shade knew she hadn't been bleeding that badly, yet somehow she seemed to be caught in a sort of stupor. Her incoherent speech unnerved him even more than her screams.

"Don't worry. She'll be fine," Patterson assured him, with surprising kindness for an owl. "Her wing is not badly hurt. I suspect she'll still be able to fly without much hindrance."

Shade nodded. He had heard "she'll be fine," but couldn't stay focused long enough to hear the rest. He found himself sinking into in a daze of his own: he needed Marina to be okay. He had come all this way for her. She was his best friend—his _only_ friend until Chinook. She had always been there for him.

The Lieutenant said something about being in shock, and that she just needed to rest for a while, before insisting that they leave immediately. He even offered to carry Marina on his back. Shade took a depth breath and calmed down, bringing himself back to his senses. She would be all right. They would both be all right. The three of them hastily took to the air, circling the enclosure in a wide arc.

"Why are you helping us?" Shade asked curiously a few seconds later, unable to contain his suspicion.

The Lieutenant seemed to debate his answer for a while. "I heard what you did back in the Jungle, freeing all of those owls."

Shade grunted, "It's what anyone would've done."

Patterson shook his head. "Until recently, I didn't think I would've had the courage to do the same." He paused and looked directly into Shade's eyes for the first time. He looked tired. "My mate was one of the owls you rescued."

Shade just stared back at the owl sympathetically. He couldn't imagine how painful it must be for Patterson to be separated from his mate, like so many of the animals in this Human building must suffer. He wanted to say something, to comfort this one ally in such hopeless circumstances, but nothing came to mind. They flew on in thick silence.

He quickly developed a habit of checking on Marina periodically, and he noticed that she seemed to be growing more coherent as time went by, groaning less frequently. Up close, her wing was not as badly injured as Shade had originally thought. At first, his mind had amplified it to some sort of grotesque, fatal gash that ran half of the length of her wing when, in reality, it was just a small nick in the membrane, falling short of her forearm. With tremendous relief, he realized that Patterson had been right: she would be fine.

That is, if they could find a way out.

* * *

><p>He tossed and turned, mumbling in his sleep. <em>Gone. They're all gone.<em> With a jolt, his eyes shot open, and it took him a while to realize that he had been dreaming. Beside him, Ariel and Cassiel took deep, peaceful breaths, wrapped in each other's wings. Even though the sun had set a few hours ago, they were exhausted, and the two mates slept soundly together. He wished he could sleep too.

But Chinook couldn't shake what had happened. In his mind, he could still vividly remember looking down through the skylight as Shade, Marina, and Socrates weaved their way through the hoards of cannibal bats. The had been so close; he had been able to see the look of relief and desperation on their faces, only to watch them turn to terror as a pair of blazing teeth blocked their path.

And then, Ariel had closed the window.

_She had no choice_, Chinook told himself,_ we would all be dead right now if she hadn't_. There was nothing to be gained by letting any of the Vampyrum loose. Still, these thoughts did little to sooth the knot in his chest. If anything, they made it worse.

He was alone now, and he didn't feel safe anymore—not without Shade. He couldn't let down his guard, lest something, anything, sneak up on him. Every sound in the night was now a warning, a threat, amplified and distorted horribly by the concrete roof. It wasn't so much that he trusted Shade to protect him, but the way Shade always managed to get those around him through things safely.

There had been much debate among the three bats once the skylight had been closed, trying to decide what to do. Chinook had wanted to immediately go in after them, but the others forced him to see reason: the cannibals knew they were there, they knew about the window, and the others had probably already found another way out…or were beyond help. It would have been suicide to chase after them.

So they had decided to wait. After all, Shade had survived worse, he told himself. Chinook was confident that the little runt could get out of anything. As the time had dragged by, Ariel and Cassiel had talked a little, trying to reassure each other, but the seconds had soon turned into minutes, the minutes into hours, and still there was no sign of the missing bats.

Now Chinook took the sky, resigned to his insomnia. He needed to keep moving, to do something. Shade wouldn't have left _him_ to die so readily. As he flew, he tried to make a plan, come up with some kind of brilliant solution to all of their problems. He thought about the way Shade had taken charge back in the Jungle, and tried to summon the same composed attitude—to stay clear and focused—but he couldn't.

_Of course you can't_, he told himself bitterly, _you're just some dumb bat. You're not Shade; you're not Marina; without your looks, you'd hardly be anything at all._

Angry with himself, he set back down on the roof and slumped despairingly against something hard. He was fuming, but couldn't quite decide what it was that irritated him so much.

He remembered when he was younger, only a newborn, _he_ used to be the star. Only a few months ago, he had been the strongest bat, the fastest bat, the fiercest hunter…now it all meant nothing. Shade was the hero. It wasn't like he was mad with Shade for stealing his thunder. It was more that he was mad with himself for taking all he'd had for granted. All that he had left going for him were his looks.

But even those weren't enough, he realized. Marina, for instance, had been kind and friendly, but she wasn't _really_ interested in him. He was too dumb, too useless, too thickheaded to be her mate. And of course, Shade deserved her more than he did.

He felt like he was wiser now. No longer was he the naïve, gloating newborn that tormented Shade and boasted about his strength. He knew now what really counted above being strong and fast and popular, and one of those things was friendship. But it seemed as though he wouldn't even have that any more.

He sighed again. He was exhausted, and rested his head against the object behind him. He shivered a little: whatever he was leaning against was very cold—much colder than the concrete roof. He pushed himself off of it an turned around.

It was another glass skylight.

Chinook peered through it, at first mistaking the trees and pond before him for those of the bat enclosure, but then he saw that there were owls inside. A great many of them, it seemed. They were all gathered around a large maple tree, and appeared to be fighting over something, for there was a great ruckus amongst its branches.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, and he knew—with the kind of certainty that needs no evidence—that Shade was in there. Somewhere, somehow, he was in there, for only Shade could cause so much trouble.


	16. Help from Above

**Chapter 16: Help from Above**

Marina seemed to be regaining consciousness. Her eyes were open slightly, squinting in the enclosure's light, and she had stopped moaning.

"What happened?" she asked. "I don't remember…"

"It's okay," Shade told her, soothingly. "You just blacked out for a bit."

"What about Goth? And…what am I lying on?"

Shade couldn't help grinning, "Marina, meet Lieutenant Patterson."

The owl nodded in acknowledgement.

"Aren't you the one who saved Blake?" she asked.

Patterson nodded, but didn't elaborate. "I only just got the two of you out of there in time." He looked over his shoulder, his head swiveling impossibly far back to focus on her. "It's unfortunate that I couldn't get there sooner," he informed her. "You've got a bad puncture in your wing, but you should be just fine."

Marina nodded vaguely. She still seemed a little woozy as she laid her head back down on Patterson's back.

"You seem to be taking things pretty well," Shade remarked.

"It's not the first time I've been saved by an owl," she marveled. "So where are we going now?"

Shade just shook his head. They didn't really have a plan. Patterson couldn't fit into the air vent with them; and even then, what good would it do? For all they knew, it stretched on forever, or else was crawling with other Vampyrum, lagging behind in their softened state. He knew they would need to find something fast—before the owls realized what was going on.

As if on cue, a shriek sounded from the maple tree behind them:

"The bats! The bats are escaping!"

Just like that, a detachment of rebel owls broke free from the larger skirmish to give chase. Shade flapped harder, desperately trying to expand the dwindling gap between them, but it was no use: the owls had impossibly large wings, and weren't exhausted as he was from constant fleeing. He turned to the Lieutenant, still carrying Marina.

"Go ahead," he said. He knew was holding them back. He knew the owl could easily outstrip him.

"No," the Lieutenant insisted loyally. "I will not leave you for them to torture and kill."

"Don't worry about me," Shade said firmly, trying to sound confident. "I'll be fine. Save Marina."

As he stared into the owl's eyes, an odd glimmer of understanding surfaced in their dark depths. Patterson continued to stare back at him for what felt like an eternity, before nodding almost imperceptibly and pulling on ahead. As she was flown away from him on the owl's feathered back, Marina rose slightly, emitting a noise of protest; but she was already too far ahead for him to hear.

Shade shook his head again. He was exhausted, and he hardly knew if he could summon enough strength for it, but he took a deep breath anyway. Painfully and sloppily, he sang out a very weak and poorly defined sound illusion behind him, his vocal chords dry and raw. It was intended to look like Goth, but in his fatigued state he could accomplish little more than an indistinct blur. He watched the pursuing owls hesitate a little at the projection, reluctant to fly straight through it; but then they simply veered around the small puddle of sound and continued after him.

_Please Nocturna_, he thought gravely, _Please get us out of here alive_. He had been through so much that day—come so close to freedom, so many times—that he just wanted it to be over with. No more fleeing, no more fighting, no more worrying. He looked up to the ceiling desperately, as though hoping for a sign, and saw the stars shining brightly through the window.

The _open_ window.

"Marina!"

He yelled ahead of him, trying to get her attention. As she looked back, he pointed with his claw towards the skylight, one of its segments ajar. She seemed to understand, and nodded before relaying the message to Patterson. He made sure to wait until he saw the owl pitch up sharply towards the opening—towards freedom.

Shade followed suit. With each beat of his wings, the night sky became more defined, and Shade could just make out the dark silhouette of a strong Silverwing, holding the window the pane open. He had never felt so grateful to see Chinook in his life. All of the mocking and teasing when he was younger, all of the times Chinook had showed him up, all of those times he had been called "runt" and suffered ridicule from the other newborns…they were all worth it to see his handsome face—yes, he admitted it: Chinook was handsome—smiling brightly against the night sky.

Shade almost shouted with joy as he watched Marina and Patterson soar past Chinook and into the sky, circling a few times before setting down. They were safe, and now their faces were added beside Chinook's, the three of them watching through the glass as he too neared the skylight. He could smell the fresh air, hear the bugs in the sky. His wings ached tremendously, but it was worth the pain as he thrust his way through the air furiously. He made one final push, reveling in the scent of the night sky…

And was jerked backwards sharply by his tail.

Marina let out a cry above, and Shade soon found Goth's face millimeters from his own, his foul breath washing over him as he was dragged through the air. The Vampyrum's expression was the most fearsome thing Shade had ever beheld: his eyes were livid, his face taut with rage. He seemed simultaneously on the brink of crying and breaking out into cruel laughter. It was frightening, and yet, Shade couldn't help wondering what had befallen Fallon, for she was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, Shade…" his voice was shrill and coarse; the way one speaks when they've lost all control of their emotions. "I have suffered terribly this night—and once again, I have you alone to thank for that. All my life, you have vexed me, humiliated me, bested me at every turn. But no more!" he shook Shade roughly. "I will waste no more time with you. I will—"

But what was sure to be yet another eloquent speech was cut short. A rock—and a fairly sizeable rock at that—had struck the cannibal squarely in the face, bouncing off almost comically. For a brief moment, Goth seemed to have been completely unaffected by the impact, his grip still firm on Shade's forearms. Then, his eyes rolled back into his skull and his hold loosened dramatically. Shade quickly pulled himself free and watched, transfixed, as Goth's body spiraled down towards the ground like a large, gray leaf.

Coming back to his senses, Shade adjusted his course once more, making another break for the skylight. He was upon it in only a few wingbeats, and as he passed through the open frame, he took one final look over his shoulder.

On the ground of the enclosure, Goth's limp body lay sprawled out over the grass. He seemed to already be recovering, his wings jerking slightly. He raised his head and stood up, tensing for takeoff before being quickly swarmed by owls, pecking and clawing gruesomely at his flesh. The cannibal's cries pierced Shade's ears as bones were broken, wings torn. Despite all the hatred he harbored towards Goth, Shade forced himself to turn away from the grisly sight below him.

Then, he was out.


	17. Freedom

**Chapter 17: Freedom**

Shade landed clumsily on the concrete roof, only barely touching down before being pulled immediately into a choking embrace. Whatever had him was gripping tight. As he inhaled in surprise, Marina's soft scent filled his nostrils and he felt her warm body pressing against him, her bright fur shining in the moon's glow. The whole ordeal had been worth it, he felt, just for this moment. All too quickly he remembered why he had been so motivated to find her: he hadn't been this happy in weeks.

He never wanted it to end, and for a long time, no one spoke, the two bats simply standing there, wrapped in each other's wings. Eventually, Marina finally pulled back. She stared at him angrily, her eyes sparkling with tears.

"Don't ever leave me like that again!"

"I won't," Shade promised gently. "As long as you promise never to get yourself hurt again."

At his words, Marina looked over at her wing curiously, as though only noticing her injury for the first time. It was already crusted over with dried blood, which made it appear much worse than it truly was. Shade knew she would heal completely, but he still couldn't help grimacing as his sonic gaze washed over it.

"Does it hurt much?" he asked.

She shook her head dismissively, directing her gaze towards him again, "I'll live." She grinned, "Guess you managed to get us out alive after all."

Shade grinned back, "Well, I did have some help."

His head turned towards the muscular bat standing just a couple of wingbeats back from them, a huge smile plastered all over his face. "I could kiss you right now, Chinook."

He chuckled, "Jeez, Shade. I don't think I missed you _that_ much."

"Actually," Marina poked, "I'm surprised you're okay with someone else saving the day for once, Shade."

With that, they all broke out into fits of laughter—Shade joining in good-naturedly. After everything that had happened, everything they had been through, it was good just to be able to laugh again. There were a lot of emotions hiding beneath their euphoria, but it didn't matter now. They were alive, and that was all anyone cared to grasp.

Eventually, after quite some time, they quieted, gasping for air. When they had all finally calmed down, Patterson spoke up, and his mournful, hooting voice made Shade jump slightly. He had completely forgotten that the owl was still there.

"I owe you many thanks, Silverwing," the Lieutenant began. His tone was calm, but Shade swore he was grinning—though, it was awfully hard to tell with an owl.

"What?" Shade asked incredulously. "You deserve thanks more than us! You saved us from having our wings pecked off!"

"And you fought off Goth and Fallon," Marina added.

"And you carried Marina when she was too hurt to fly," Shade finished.

The owl seemed to be smiling for sure now—the feathers surrounding his beak shifted upwards slightly, and out towards the side of his face. When he spoke, his eyes were focused on Shade, his voice humble. However, Shade was sure that this effect was largely forced: Patterson seemed rather pleased with himself.

"You saved my mate," he said, a mischievous glint in his eye, "So I saved yours."

At these simple words, Shade felt body turned to stone. He was struck mute for a moment—shocked that Patterson thought that he and Marina were mates. Not that he hadn't strongly considered asking: the thought had occurred to him countless times, but he was much too afraid of what the answer would be if he followed through. Shade found himself opening his mouth to correct the mistake, but Patterson was already talking over him, and Shade couldn't help but wonder if the owl was deliberately trying to cause trouble.

"Oh, we're not—"

"I'm sure you two will be very happy," he pressed on, the glint in his eyes spreading to his voice. "But now, I must return to my own mate. I wish you bats the best of luck."

Shade, resigned in his attempts to rectify owl's assumption, watched as their companion beat its majestic wings. It was still somewhat awe-inspiring to watch the large, magnificent creature lift into the air gracefully, silent and effortless. As he gained altitude, the Lieutenant gave a last, friendly nod before turning into the wind and flying off into the distance.

* * *

><p>They flew leisurely, the three of them—in no hurry to get back to Ariel and Cassiel, who were still soundly asleep. Instead, they made their way into the small forest that bordered the concrete building on three sides, hoping to eat a little before their long journey north to Tree Haven.<p>

While they hunted, they talked a little. The conversation was light, but that wasn't to say that there was nothing to discuss: it was merely that they were all too tired to tackle any serious topics. Chinook even avoided asking what had happened to Socrates, knowing that it was too soon to bring it up. After all, there would be plenty of time to talk now—years and years of time.

As they made their way back to the small nook where Ariel and Cassiel had made their roost, the horizon was already beginning to brighten, and Shade felt Chinook pull in close beside him, whispering almost inaudibly.

"That owl got me thinking," Chinook started.

"Well, its never to late to take up a hobby," Shade poked light-heartedly.

Chinook ignored him, "Well, he made a good point, didn't he?"

Shade frowned, "What point?"

Chinook nudged him in the ribs, "_Have you_ asked Marina to be your mate?"

Shade was caught of guard, and started coughing to cover up his hesitation. "N-no…" he choked.

Chinook rolled his eyes infuriatingly, and Shade found it hard to believe that he had been so happy to see him only moments ago.

"What!"

"Well, come on, Shade! You need to get a move on!"

"A move on?" Shade asked, playing dumb. He knew perfectly well where this was going.

"Shade, now's your chance. Get it over with while there're no other males around to ask her."

Shade looked away angrily. Of course Chinook could talk about mating so casually. Didn't he realize that it wasn't so simple for him? He didn't have Chinook's looks; he didn't have his muscles. "She's not interested Chinook, she seems to have made it pretty clear."

"Don't jump to conclusions so quickly," he said.

"I'm not _jumping to conclusions_," Shade said, trying to be patient while fuming at Chinook's shrewd demeanor. He looked over to his right. Marina was flying contentedly a few wingbeats away. Could she hear what they were saying?

"We spend most of our time bickering with each other," he reflected, a little sadly. "We're not meant to be together. In fact, I sometimes wonder whether she can even _tolerate_ me."

Chinook winked at him in an oddly wise way, "You never know. Some bats show their affection in weird ways."

Shade couldn't think of anything to say, so he just grunted noncommittally and kept flying. He wasn't exactly disappointed that the conversation had ended.

The group continued on the rest of the way in silence. It wasn't a hostile or awkward silence, but a sort of content serenity that hung around them after finally being free of worry or danger. As they pulled up to the small alcove in which Ariel and Cassiel had made roost on the ground, Chinook pulled ahead of Shade, whispering to him as he passed.

"Think about what I said, Shade." He spoke in a serious voice he had never thought possible from the bat that had always called him Runt. "I don't want to see you alone and miserable because you're more afraid of Marina than you are of Goth."


	18. Homeward Bound

**Chapter 18: Homeward Bound**

Long, dark outlines swept across the ground as the sun began to dip low in the sky, kissing the horizon. A week had passed since they had left the Human building, and the contrast in atmosphere made everything seem to glow just a bit more brightly. A calm tailwind pushed them along as the five bats made their way back to the northern forests.

They were going home.

It had been a sleepless day back at the Human building so many nights ago. When they had regrouped, Shade found himself nearly smothered by his parents, who joked distractedly that they really should be getting used to this sort of thing by now. Then they all had to retell their stories, start to finish, no detail left out. It was a day full of jokes, laughter, and good spirits. They had slept through the night and all the next day before finally starting their long journey north.

Shade looked around him, still smiling a little, simply happy to be alive after so many stressful nights. He couldn't help laughing as he reflected on what Goth had said: trouble truly did seem to follow him wherever he went.

And now, he was free again, flying with his family: his parents, Ariel and Cassiel; his friend and adopted brother, Chinook…and then there was Marina. She was a big part of his life too, and his mother seemed to treat her as a daughter, but that could change all to easily. All it took was for Marina to choose a mate, and she would no longer be a part of his family—she would start her own family, without him.

Unless _he_ became her mate.

"He should be here with us," Marina said, jarring Shade out of his thoughts.

They all knew immediately whom she meant. Shade himself had hardly known Socrates, but it seemed that everyone else had, and they all had nice things to say. He found that he was fighting with himself—between his sorrow for this bat, who had risked his life to help him, and envy at the way Marina seemed to revere him.

"He was a good bat," Cassiel said. "He went out of his way to help others, and he died much too young."

Marina nodded sadly, and Shade's gut twisted in a cyclone of conflicting emotions. He remembered what she had said to him all those days ago at the research facility, and felt ashamed that he was so quick to jump to conclusions. She was allowed to have other friends, and she had just lost one.

"I know you must miss him," Shade consoled.

Marina nodded. "I think he envied you," she said, looking at him attentively.

"Really?" He couldn't imagine why. Socrates, from what he had heard, had known a lot—about Humans, about bats, about everything. What Shade would've given to simply know half of what Socrates had learned. More than that, Socrates had spent more time alone with Marina in a few days than he had in almost a year—not since they were just two young bats, trying to catch up with his mother.

"His colony never shared his interests, or helped him," Marina explained to Shade. "I mean, Frieda was always there for you, helping you along and protecting you from the other elders. She even came with you herself to help search for the banded bats."

"Yeah, because we all know how well that went," Shade said grumpily.

"At least you were free to do what you wanted!" she replied pointedly, instantly flaring up. "At least you were surrounded by people who supported you."

"Yeah, how lucky of me to get the chance to lead other bats to their deaths," he shot back, his voice dripping with dark sarcasm as he argued with her. "I mean, who'd want to sit around in a cage all their life when they could be out having their heart ripped from their chest, or explosives sewn to their skin?"

"And whose fault was that?" she retorted.

He could feel his frustration rising, "You wanted to find out about the bands too!"

"I know, Shade," she sighed bitterly. "My greatest flaw is letting you talk me into doing stupid things. Trust me, I already knew that."

He opened his mouth to argue back, but realized that their voices had been escalating the whole time—and in the midst of his parents and Chinook. It made him feel embarrassed, thinking that they had overheard him bickering with her. It forcibly reminded him of all of the other times she had made him feel this way—arguing shamelessly over one thing or another. He felt a smile sneak onto his face.

"I missed you."

She looked taken aback at first, shaking her head ruefully before grinning back at him.

"I'd have led quite a boring life without you, Shade," she admitted. "Although, I wouldn't have had to worry about being eaten all the time…" She broke off and chuckled inwardly. "I missed you too."

Just like that, they were good friends again, talking freely with each other about anything and everything. It reminded him nostalgically of those long conversations he could still recall from all those years ago, when he had only just met her.

They talked about the bats that had stayed behind, and what they thought the new Tree Haven would be like, and whether or not things would ever really be normal for them. From time to time, the others would add their opinions to the conversation, but for the most part, the seemed to be staying tactfully quiet.

"Do you think Goth's finally dead?" Marina asked after a brief stretch of silence.

"He must be. When I last saw him, he was being torn to shreds by at least dozen angry owls."

Marina nodded approvingly, but Shade only wished he were so confident. In his heart, he knew Goth couldn't be killed. You could strip his flesh down to the bones and his skeleton would still jump to life, its jaws thrashing.

"It's unfortunate too," Shade added with a smirk. "He and Fallon really seemed perfect for each other."

"It's hard to imagine either of them raising a newborn," Marina said distastefully. "And that's assuming that they could even avoid ripping each other's heads off long enough to mate. Still, some people don't realize what they have until it's too late."

She was looking at him again, and Shade felt suddenly uncomfortable. What did that last sentence mean? Was it some kind of hint? Or was he simply desperate for some confirmation that she felt the same way about him as he did about her? Was she secretly tormenting him, reveling in his discomfort?

But then her gaze softened, and things returned to normal. He pushed his worries to the back of his mind: he would sort it out later. He had plenty of time to ask her. It wasn't too late yet.

As the night drew to a close, Shade, Marina, Ariel, Cassiel, and Chinook crested the peak of a small hill. They watched in wonder as the landscape unfolded grandly before them, and they let out a collective gasp of relief and astonishment.

"There's our new Tree Haven," Ariel said, the awe in her voice spreading contagiously.

It was a fine tree to say the least. It grew tall and strong, its thick trunk shooting up high into the heavens, reaching well above its neighbours. All around it, bats were already zipping about excitedly, hunting and laughing and talking loudly to one another. More impressive than the tree itself was its location: it stood firm, a lone redwood in the center of a small clearing, surrounded by a crescent of much younger trees. The hunting would be amazing.

"It's perfect," Marina breathed.

He couldn't have agreed more. It wasn't just a tree, it was a place to start a family. It was a place to grow old with friends, to tell stories; to laugh and cry and sleep in the company of people you loved.

It was a home.


	19. Tree Haven

**Chapter 19: Tree Haven**

Shade made tight upward spirals, ascending rapidly through the broad trunk of Tree Haven. Already, the females were busy carving out roosts and preparing the tree for the year's newborns.

He wished he could do something to help, seeing how it was his fault that the first Tree Haven had be burnt down, but his father had told him that the females were very particular about their roosts. After all, it was they who would need to stay behind later and care for the needy, crying newborns.

He rose further still, climbing towards the summit. It was there that the colony's elders roosted, watching over the night's progress. As he spiraled upwards, he concluded vaguely that the tree was much taller from the inside than it had appeared on the outside. He felt slightly out of breath when he finally arrived at his destination, circling slowly as he waited to be addressed.

Tentatively, he directed his gaze up at the aging female bats above him. The males elders had already returned to Stone Hold, their frail bodies making them of little use to the construction efforts. Shade continued to wait, his gaze passing slowly over the graying faces looking down at him from above. He briefly met the gaze of Aurora and Lucretia, before his eyes locked with those of a much younger bat. He knew those eyes well, and they shone brightly at his arrival.

"Shade!"

With a flutter of her wings, Ariel dropped down from her perch, embracing her son in mid air.

"I was wondering when you'd come to visit," she said, before frowning slightly. "You look a little tense."

"I'm just not used to seeing you up here," Shade admitted. "It makes you seem older somehow."

She smiled. "I know it must feel strange for you, Shade; but I'm still the same bat I've always been. I'll always be here for you and—" she stopped suddenly, as if remembering something. "Was there something you wanted to ask me?"

He hesitated slightly. "I was wondering if you've seen Marina," he said quickly, embarrassed at the knowing look in his mother's eyes. He had received that look many times when he was younger, as though she could see right through him. How long had she known?

"I think she went out to hunt," Ariel said finally, giving him a quick nuzzle before returning to her roost with the other elders.

He smiled and nodded goodbye before descending hastily through the thick tangle of bats milling around inside the tree's trunk. He didn't know why he suddenly felt like he had to hurry, but he simply couldn't wait any longer. As he made his way through the knothole that would take him outside, he cast a last fleeting glance towards the elders' roost.

It was still strange for him to see his mother there, hanging imposingly among the older bats. She seemed different somehow, though Shade knew that she hadn't changed in the slightest. Maybe, he thought ashamedly, he was just uncomfortable with having to share her with the rest of the colony.

She was definitely a good choice for the position. She was probably the wisest Silverwing he knew, since Frieda; and even after her inauguration, the colony was still short an elder.

He had been surprised to find, upon returning from the Human building a few nights earlier, that Lucretia had been made chief elder. Shade, personally, was glad to be rid of the old hag, but couldn't help asking what had happened to Bathseba. Apparently, the old bat had grown overly paranoid that the owls would dishonor King Boreal's peace treaty. She had adamantly insisted, he was told, that the colony roost on the ground during the day, lest the birds in neighbouring trees develop any traitorous motives. However—and Shade had to restrain himself from laughing when he heard—the rest of the colony had been reluctant to follow her command, especially after watching their chief elder be savagely eaten by a fox.

The cool night air brought Shade back to his senses as he flew out into the sky. He couldn't quite explain it, but there would always be something special about twilight—flying in the day would never quite feel the same.

All around the clearing and amongst the surrounding trees, bats were hunting and talking and playing enthusiastically. The insects, he soon found, were so numerous in this part of the forest that one could subsist simply by letting their mouth hang open as they flew, swallowing from time to time.

As his eyes passed among the eating bats, searching, Shade could see that many of them were hunting or roosting in pairs. This was not the first time he had noticed the phenomenon, and it alarmed him that so many Silverwings were already searching for mates—and indeed it seemed that many had succeeded in finding one. The sight of all of these happy couples made him feel slightly nervous, and now he understood why he had felt so rushed. As he flew on, he got so caught up in his worries that he smacked headfirst into Chinook.

"Ow! Watch where you're going, Shade," he said, laughing a little and rubbing his head with his wingtip. "I thought you were supposed to have the best ears in the colony."

"Sorry, Chinook," Shade replied impatiently, rubbing his own forehead. "I was just…distracted."

Chinook raised one eyebrow humorously. "I bet you are," he said mysteriously.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Shade demanded, suddenly irritated. Why was everyone talking to him like they all knew something he didn't?

"Oh, nothing," Chinook answered dismissively. "So where're you going in such a hurry?"

Shade frowned, looking away. "I'm trying to…"

"…find Marina?" Chinook asked in the same amused demeanor, as though this whole conversation was some hilarious joke.

Shade sighed regretfully. He tried to keep his voice calm as he replied: "Yes, actually, that's exactly what I'm doing. So I'll just be on my way then. It's been nice speaking with you, Chinook. Stimulating as always."

He took off quickly before Chinook could tease him with more of his silent mockery. He flew past the clearing towards the surrounding forest, where most of the hunting was taking place. If she was out here, this was where he was sure to find her.

As he cut his way through the densely grown trees, he absent-mindedly snapped up a few midges, searching all the while for a swath of bright fur amongst the swirling seas of silver. A metallic glint caught his eye, flashing a little ways to his left.

"Marina!" he called out, almost certain that he had seen her up ahead. He veered after her, calling to her again. "Hey! Wait up, will you!"

"Race you to the stream!" she called back over her shoulder.

"Do we have to?" he asked, but Marina showed no signs of turning back, and he dreaded the thought of losing to her. He grudgingly trimmed his wings and darted after her, taking a shortcut he knew.

A few seconds later, he came out of foliage, parallel to the river. He dipped low over the water, scooping its burning cold water into his mouth.

"Beat you!" he yelled triumphantly, settling down on an overhanging branch.

"No you didn't."

He nearly jumped out of his fur. There she was, hanging just a few inches away from him, folded up in her bright wings. She looked for all the world like an autumn leaf still clinging to life, and he grinned. It was just the way he had first met her on the island long ago.

"So how's your roost going?" he asked, suddenly awkward around her. He cursed himself for asking such a lame question. Was this how things were going to be between them from now on: small talk and awkward glances?

"I finished it a few hours ago, actually," she answered.

"I'm glad you're staying with us."

"Hmmm," she said lazily. "I couldn't pass up the novelty of being the only Brightwing in your colony. Oh, by the way, Chinook just asked me to be his mate."

"What?"

"Yeah, just an hour ago."

Shade almost choked on a mosquito. How could she just throw that out there so casually? Was she trying to see how he would react? And Chinook! Sure, he could be insufferable at times, but he was a good bat and Shade had always considered him a friend. Surely he knew…

He realized suddenly that Marina was looking at him curiously, as though gauging his reaction, and yet again, Shade couldn't help the feeling that she was just trying to mess around with him.

"Well," Shade said stiffly, "He's a handsome bat, like you said."

Maybe it had been foolish for him to assume that she considered him anything more than a friend. When had there ever been any evidence? It wasn't like they got along all the time—they hardly got along half of the time, and Shade caught himself wondering if Marina deserved better than him. After all, he thought sadly, he wasn't much to look at.

"Everyone's choosing mates now," Marina observed. "You've noticed that, right Shade?"

"Yes," he replied through gritted teeth. As if he could think about anything else!

"You know it's something I've really wanted, don't you?" she said, looking at him intently. "I mean, I'm older than you, I know that. It's not the same for you yet. But for me, I have to have a home. Ariel's been so good to me, but I want my very own family now. You understand, right?"

She was speaking so logically and maturely that it frightened him somewhat. It seemed that she had been giving this a lot of thought lately. He began to get the impression that she was really contemplating saying yes to Chinook, and Shade couldn't really blame her. He wasn't sure that he could give her what she wanted. He would probably be no better than his own father at raising a newborn, he reflected, running off all the time. Marina needed someone more reliable than him.

"So you'll be my mate, then?" Marina said, breaking into a wide grin.

Shade's mind still hadn't quite caught up with his ears. "Be your…what about Chinook!"

"I told him no thanks," she said indifferently. "I did the right thing, didn't I?"

"You're not allowed to be anyone's mate but mine," he said, curving his wing around her and drawing her close. He had never thought that he would have it in him, the confidence to show his affection in such a way; but now that it was finally said and done, it all came naturally to him.

"Good," Marina said, her voice muffled against his fur. "It worked out just right, then."

He felt the awkwardness that had haunted him the past few nights vanish. Everything in the world was right now. As he thought about all they had been through together, he caught himself chuckling a little.

"What?"

"Do you know when I first fell in love with you?" he asked, not a hint of shyness in his voice.

"When?"

He looked over at her, "When we were trying to catch up to my colony, and we found that group of Graywings that were migrating too. They offered to let us travel with them, but when they saw that you had a band, they shooed us away.

Shade smiled as he retold the story. It was so vividly fresh in his mind, like it had happened no more than a week ago.

"They kept saying that it was cursed and that you were going to die, so I tried to make you feel better. I said that maybe some bands were good and some bands were bad. That's when you turned and asked me 'Which have I got? Guess I'll know when I burst into flames.'"

Marina laughed appreciatively. "I said that?" she asked. "Good to know I've always had my brilliant sense of humor." She sighed dramatically, "Those were the good old days, weren't they?"

"Yeah," Shade joked, "when we only had _two_ cannibal bats to worry about."

They laughed for a while longer, before falling silent again. It was Marina's turn to say something, and Shade waited patiently.

"Do you remember," she began finally, "Back at the first Human building, when I told you to stop being a hero? When I told you to stop being so suspicious and paranoid, and stop sulking around and acting so irritable?"

"Yeah."

"I meant every word of it."

"Hey!"

"But I'm glad you didn't listen," she finished with a smile.

"I thought I heard your voices," Ariel said, landing on the branch with them.

"Marina's going to be my mate!" Shade exclaimed excitedly.

"Finally," Ariel said in a mock-exasperated voice. At their confused looks she explained, "Oh, I knew. It wasn't hard, from the way you two always argued, and bickered…" She paused, "And from how well you look after each other."

Shade couldn't believe it. How could she have known before he had known himself?

"Oh, come on Shade," Marina said in a sort of happily resigned voice. "It was obvious. Who else would put up with you?"

Shade smiled in spite of himself. "It's probably best for everyone that it worked out this way. I couldn't imagine you with Chinook: you'd eat him alive in one week."

Marina glared at him dangerously before laughing again.

"Actually," Ariel said, "I think Chinook just wanted you two to get your act together." She turned to Shade, "Apparently my courageous hero of a son is more afraid of you than he is of Goth."

"Well, he has good reason," Marina said seriously.

"I'm not afraid of her!" Shade insisted indignantly, before realizing how childish he sounded.

"Oh, I don't know Shade. You'd better watch out," Marina said severely, "You never know when I might burst into flames."

With that, they were laughing together uncontrollably yet again. After a few sharpgasps for air, they fell silent once more, and Shade hesitated for a moment, steeling himself before whispering something into Marina's ear. He could feel the heat on her face as she blushed, and felt his own cheeks burn as she whispered back.

"I'll leave you two to sort out who's afraid of whom in peace," Ariel said with a curious smirk before flying off in the direction of Tree Haven.

"You know," Marina said thoughtfully after more content silence, "We really should thank Chinook."

Shade grunted skeptically, "I don't think his head needs to be inflated more than it already is."

"No," she chuckled, "I guess not".

For a moment, they hung from their branch in silence. However, it was no longer an awkward feeling that presided over the quiet. Rather, it was the silence of two bats who had a lot to say, but didn't need to say any of it out loud.

Eventually, they did talk more—and argue for that matter. Still, the bickering did nothing to dampen their spirits; just for each to know that the other shared their feelings was a tremendous relief.

Shade felt like he had finally accomplished something important in his life. This was success beyond saving the world or defeating Goth. It was personal success. He was so at ease that he didn't even falter when Marina started speculating over newborn names. Of course, they didn't always agree (she wanted "Celeste" for a girl instead of "Aurora"), but neither of them would have had it any other way.

As the night grew old, Shade looked up through the branches of the tree line and into the brightening sky. All around them, birds sang in their nests, chirping out the dawn chorus. He could even hear an owl, hooting in the distance, and the sound no longer made him feel afraid.

"You know," Marina said, "Our lives are going to seem so boring now. It'll be hard to live up to all the explosions and cannibal bats."

"With you, nothing's ever boring," Shade responded earnestly. "Come on," he said, "I'll show you the best place in the forest to see the sun rise."


	20. Epilogue

**Chapter 20: Epilogue**

Shade hung from Marina's roost, his ears twitching irritably. It was midday and the insects buzzing around outside Tree Haven were making such a racket he marveled that Marina could sleep so soundly beside him. Perhaps his wings, wrapped tightly around her, damped the noise somewhat. In fact, a quick glance around the tree's vast trunk made it clear that he was the only one still awake.

He couldn't help it: his mind was churning restlessly. Tomorrow, the males were due to set out for Stone Hold, and Shade was starting to find the whole thing ridiculous. How could they be expected to leave their mates after only a few weeks together? It was depressing to think that while he was millions of wingbeats away, Marina would be here. He supposed it would give him an opportunity to spend more time with his father—which was still a novelty—but he couldn't stand the idea of being away from her for so long, especially given the circumstances.

Of course, his parents had insisted that this was simply the way of things. The males were of no use while the newborns were birthed and raised; they would only get in the way. That was another thing that bothered Shade: Marina got to watch their child grow and learn while he was stuck at Stone Hold with nothing to do.

Admittedly, Shade was still shocked at the idea of becoming a father. It seemed impossible that he, a small and naïve little runt, could ever be expected to care for a newborn; and he couldn't seriously imagine Marina acting a proper, stern parent either.

With an inward smile, he wondered vaguely whether his child would ever have the chance to experience the world as he had. He found himself hoping that it would have some adventures of its own—preferably less dangerous ones though. He looked over at Marina, sleeping soundly beside him. For what must have been the millionth time, Shade tried to imagine the two of them together, in the exact same spot, but with a newborn hanging between them. He could picture the pale, hairless outline of a baby bat, and he could easily enough imagine Marina and himself, but somehow he could not picture the three of them together.

With a long yawn and a small smile, Shade forced himself to close his eyes. Sleep would not come to him, though, and he shifted around restlessly. As he drifted in and out of consciousness, he thought he could feel a vague tremor propagate through the tree's soft bark, but he shrugged it off, crediting it to his imagination—one with the strange images that ran through his head: odd-looking trees, with leaves and needles on the same branch; an ocean of sand, churning and bubbling; a fiery tree, rising tall and solemn from a deep valley; and then…

He felt himself jerk awake yet again, and wondered how long it had been since he had last slept properly. He felt small streak of sweat trickled down his face: the final image had been of Goth. But it was not Shade that the Vampyrum had attacked: it was a smaller, strange-looking bat, with bright streaks of fur, and Shade felt some strange, inexplicable connection with the creature.

Just as he was beginning to worry that he would never again sleep soundly, his breathing calmed a little. He could feel Marina's body beside him, nestled in his wings, quivering slightly as she breathed. The warmth and reassurance that radiated from her made his eyelids begin to droop. As he felt his consciousness ebb away at last, Marina's voice reached his groggy ears as through from a great distance.

"Go to sleep," she whispered.

And for the first time since leaving the Jungle, Shade slept peacefully. It was like trying to think with an empty stomach: your body knows something is missing, and it won't let you rest until it is found. With Marina beside him, now and for the rest of their lives, Shade had finally found what was missing.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: Well, that took a long time to finally finish. Hopefully, it was worth the effort. There are a few issues I want to address. The first, as usual, is that I don't own Silverwing, or any names that I may or may not have taken from other sources. My original characters (especially Fallon) do belong to me, but I honestly don't care if others use them. <em>

_Now for a few plot points. First, this story takes place after Sunwing's main events, but before the colony has returned to the northern forests (and they have been reunited—those arrested from Hibernaculum with those captured by the humans). Second, I know Marina shouldn't have her band any more because it was torn off in Silverwing. Unfortunately, this completely slipped my mind until it was far too late, for the band is an excellent way of indirectly hinting at her. _

_With that aside, please review and let me know what you think!_


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